Looking for a New Haystack

The course wrapped up today, complete with a graduation certificate that has my name spelled right in fancy calligraphy. Was it a productive week? Hmm.

Have you heard the old joke:

Unluckily a man fell out of an airplane.
Luckily, he had a parachute.
Unluckily, the parachute did not open.
Luckily, there was a haystack below him.
Unluckily, there was a pitchfork in the haystack.
Luckily, he missed the pitchfork.
Unluckily, he missed the haystack.

Unfortunately, the course itself was not extremely useful to me. I was seeking new applicable information and what I got fuzzy warm affirmations of what I already knew. Fortunately, most of the participants were senior people from an airline where I want to work. Unfortunately, at lunch on the last day, the chief pilot mentioned that he would not hire me, as I have too much flight time.

Yes, you read that right. Too much flight time. I have been working my tail off all through the recession, as many as three jobs at once, and now I discover that someone who was unemployed for much of that time, or a pilot I personally trained, has an infinitely better chance of being hired by Badger than I do. I no longer qualify for the job I really wanted. Had I been working at McDonald's for the last two years, but kept my ratings current, I would be perfectly positioned for Badger.

I understand his thinking, and it in all likelihood lines up with the thinking of many of the companies on my shortlist. I wouldn't be the first person to be overqualified for what she wants to do. I remember reading about a man with a PhD who was rejected as "overqualified" until he moved the PhD from "Education" to "Hobbies" on his resume.

I have one more flight to do before I can go home and cry. I mean "go home and plan a new career strategy."