Originally Posted by
MatchPoint
Regardless of aircraft take the first class. I’ve heard of pilots who either request to wait for a later class or turn down employment here because they were assigned the E120. I have very little respect for those who are “too good to fly the E120.” I repeat, I have VERY LITTLE respect for those who are suffering from SJS and don’t understand seniority and how it relates to their future. Disclaimer: I’m talking about SJS, if you have circumstances that restrict your flexibility (family, roots, etc) and you need the RJ for domicile reasons then I fully understand.
In my experience (at least with new hires) people want the RJ because of the pay scale and the domiciles, not necessarily SJS. Most of my friends who fly turboprops love it because it's more hands on than the RJ and they get to fly around the terrain and into harder destinations. They don't like that they're getting paid 15k less than the RJ pilot who got hired the same day as them though. Most of the guys I know want the upgrade because they want the bump in pay.
In my case the domiciles for the RJ would be a lot better for me than the domiciles for the EMB 120 but the class dates for the RJ are so far in the future that I don't think it's worth waiting. I took the earliest one I could get. Trying to live in California on the EMB 120 pay scale is going to hurt.