JohnUtah

Hello all, new to the site and looking for some intel. I am prior military, got out of active duty AF in 2011 (left as a 10 year guy). Been flying corporate since getting out but have applications in to every major and LLC, not a peep from any of them in 4 years. So, I am curious who else is ex-military and still not got a call, and how long. I thought about going to a 121 Regional, but was given advice not to do so, plus the desire to take a 80% pay cut is not appealing right now. So, if you are still on the bench too, curious how long. Oh, 4300 TT, all turbine. B.S. Degree, and an IP but never an EP/DO, etc.

tunes

do you have friends at the majors? have they written recs for you?

Hilltopper89

Hard to answer without seeing a full resume.

155mm

If it were me, I would go to a regional with no future, take an 80% pay cut, work three times harder, commute to some crap hole, have fewer days off, sleep in a dingy crashpad with eight other snoring sobs, drive a twenty five year old rust bucket airport car to impress our refrigerator sized female flight attendants, splurge once in a while to eat delicious top ramen and get treated like a criminal by management. I would do it but my dog has to eat and I don't have the heart to let him starve!

thurberm

Retired 4 years ago here, haven't heard from anyone but regionals, which I will never work for.

Difference between us, though, is I retired after 23 years and I'm 50 years old. No other reason not to hire me, lots of people have looked at my creds and I'm spotless.

Sputnik

Had a 54 year old in my new hire class and have heard of folks older than that. I don't think it's your age. Good luck.

satpak77

Joining a regional to "check" the 121 box may help

Correction: OK you are already flying corporate. Any check-airman, etc opportunites at your place ? This may help

rickair7777

Depends on what your flying in corporate...if it's small or ASEL, it's probably not enhancing your resume other than currency and a little total time. In that case a regional would be more career-enhancing (although not QOL or income enhancing).

Desirable civilian time is *generally* ME turbine, glass, heavier than 20K (bonus for international). Possible exceptions for various specific airlines, ie SWA has historically been good with turboprop commuter pilots.

The regionals are NOT the kiss of death for ex-mil guys. That rumor got started because guys were not competitive for the majors at AD separation tend to wind up regionals. A regional will not instantly make a non-competitive person competitive, nor will it fix the background "issues" some folks might have. Correlation is not causation.

JohnUtah

I am in a straight 91 department (no 135 here, but previous 135 PIC experience), and am the Chief Pilot (I handle everything including mx scheduling, etc). I am the company IP but not a check airman say like 121/135. Currently flying about 300 hours per year, King Air 250 and Lear 31/35s. When discussing my background with an ex - hiring official, he recommended I stay put and avoid the regional but to try the job fairs. I have a few internal recs from a few places, not helping at the moment.

F15Cricket

I retired in 2010 and worked as a contract sim IP for 4 years. I kept flying on the civilian side, however (T-6s ... the old kind!). I was hired last year by Alaska, which was the only company I applied to.

What seemed odd to me as a retired military dude, however, was that I needed to go after the job. At first, it struck me a bit like brown nosing in the USAF, but the reality is networking is how the airlines hire. If no pilot who flies for the company is willing to take you in to meet a base chief pilot (and thereby put their reputation on the line), then the company probably won't pull your app from the thousands they have on file.

I also took the time to go to the Puyallup aviation trade show, and also to WAI (where I got my day one interview). For some airlines, it doesn't make a difference but for others, they value the fact that you are pursuing the job.

As one base chief pilot told me, we have 3000 applicants for 150 jobs. 1000 of those resumes are from RJ pilots with 10,000 hours--what sets them apart?

Finally, if you are using a standard military resume, it is NOT impressive to most airlines. By standard military resume, I mean listing the job titles you had, the dates and bases, and your responsibilities. Instead, I summarised my career into achievements ... For instance one bullet read something like, "5 years as chief IP in 3 different squadrons."

Hope this helps.