Originally Posted by
Polarfr8dog
Do it the old school way like those of us without the military flying logbook but served and engineers that are/were on a leave of abscene:
If you've got military retirement the commuter rank pay won't be that hard to swallow as you get that time built up. Beats dropping money on a Cessna and out of your own pocket. Personally, I would put you in the front of the line here as it shows me you're willing to do whatever it takes flying wise to get where you want to be instead of saying I could never lower my standards and do that type of flying. And finally, if you didn't get hired here it's going to set you up for that next interview at the other airlines. That is, if you really want to fly in the air instead of a desk. The key is to make sure you stay current.
One thing to keep in mind is the PUBLISHED minimums and those getting hired are much higher.
Submit your app here, go to the commuter ranks without a wholier than thow attitude (not saying you would have one), and keep getting that experience until the interviews start coming. After all, you can always go back to a desk if need be.
Good Luck
100% correct and excellent advice. The hiring will continue, that's not going to be a problem. Doing it this way does a couple of things.
First, you aren't paying out of pocket for SE time just to fill the log to a min level that may or may not work.
Second, it not only shows commitment, it's going to give you a chance to make a smoother transition from military to civilian flying. Airplanes are airplanes, but operations are different. Getting your feet wet in the regionals won't be a bad thing at all...and let's be honest, as everyone has already said...what Atlas does isn't normal domestic type ops...most of the time. Getting some experience in domestic ops would be a BIG plus for the times you might get them. Especially if you ended up on the 767 doing DHL domestic flying.
Good luck and congrats on the impending retirement!