Originally Posted by
higney85
I feel 9E's HR dept has their priorities in reverse order- they should go for the qualified apps, then if they are still short they should go to bridge programs. There are plenty of guys with 250 hours that will do better than a 1200 hour guy, but more times than not a 1200 hour guy will be a much better asset to the cockpit. Experience is priceless, thats why on a resume the focal point is flight time- not age, GPA, or any other differentiating detail.
Higney85 explained this a lot better than I did. I am not against bridge programs if they are used properly. I went to Riddle. A school that has a bridge program with everyone in the sun. Hiring should be done by qualifications, then fall back on the bridge programs if supply and demand dictates it. There are guys that are in great University and Non University flight programs that are being bypassed by bridge program applicants, even though they have four year aviation degrees and 1000 hours of G1000 (glass) time, just because their school did not go and initiate these bridge programs.
I know a lot of guys that are great, that come from bridge programs, but more often than not they do not have any better training. Coming from Riddle I know that a lot of the FBOs and no name flight schools in the area were just as good, for a third of the price (which is what most parents look at when sending their kids to flight school).
As for the 650 hour guy being the lowest in MTSU history. Nothing against MTSU, becuase eveyone I have met from there seems to been cool. But this means that some recent new hires are lying about their times to friends. And why would someone lie about their time being lower?