Originally Posted by
SkyHigh
Strike one Not an ex-military pilot. That is one strike against you.
Strike two You don't come from a prominent aviation family with strong ties in the airlines. That is strike two.
Strike three You have a DUI, are overweight, no college, older than most, took to long to upgrade, was fired during initial training at a regional, are not overly attractive, can not play golf, Lack people skills, HR gal was having a bad day and a huge number of other silly reasons that you can have your dreams rubbed out.
It is possible to get hired at a major with three strikes but not very likely. If anyone does a little research on new hire classes at the majors it becomes easy to find a pattern.
Skyhigh
Not an ex military pilot: my dad, grandfather and all my uncles who flew/fly for American, United, ATA, Pan Am, Delta, Net Jets....Need I add more? Being an ex-mil is not a strike against you. It may help but it certainly wont doom your career!
No aviation ties: fortunately, I am from a family that goes back in aviation to the 1940's. However, there are PLENTY of people on this forum who have ZERO family ties with aviation that landed outstanding jobs. Job preference is a personal thing and I applaud everyone here who is where they want to be. Takes a lot of hard work!
strike three: I am definitely with you on some of those but being overweight certainly is not one of them. I've seen some RJ/Legacy pilots who look like they are going to drop dead of an MI any minute. The people skills is a definite must, no doubt there. The rest I sense as sarcasm because nobody in my family knows how to play or even gives a damn about golf.....Grandfather: 40 years at American, never played golf. Dad: 30 years collectively between National, Pan Am and United, wacked a ball once and broke the club over his knee.
By the way, I hope you get the job at Alaska. As much as I disagree with some of your postings, I'll be pulling for ya pal! I use to talk to Alaska pilots all the time and they love it there!