Originally Posted by RJ Pilot
So it only took you 6yrs+ to realize that?
Exactly! That's the point I tried to make. For some ungoddly reason people stay at Eagle in hopes things will actually get better. That's been the same story throughout Eagle history and AMR (Eagle managment) knows how to dangle that magic carrot in order to get what they want. It’s some kind of spell or disease or something.
Trust me, I feel like a fool now that I realize that I wasted a little over 6 years of my life at that place. The catch to Eagle, as it applies to FOs, is that you get stuck in a rut. You don't want to go laterally to another regional and start all over probably with a cut in pay (going from crappy to crappier), but staying at Eagle will ensure that you don't see PIC time that is needed to get on with a "real" airline. This is why I like to call Eagle an FO purgatory.
Yeah, you'll eventually upgrade in 10 years maybe (from new hire to upgrade), but that's a long time of OTHER people qualifying and grabbing those much coveted "real" airline jobs and a LONG time of getting substandard pay for hauling folks around. Not to mention having to baby sit AA blowbacks that are less qualified while they make Captain pay based on their DOH (which is contrary to how the contract is written, by the way) and an FO makes well below that.
Do yourself a favor by, at the very least, making sure not to drink from the kool-aid well over there and don't EVER think that the senior pilots of the group won't screw over everyone below them for just a little more of something. APA is bad about "eating their young", but the senior Eagle pilot group runs a close second. You also have to consider the possibilities of the "flushbacks" staying there for A LONG time, IMHO. That evaluates into a VERY LONG time to upgrade regardless what spews from the company kool-aid pump.
May I ask where are you working now?
Yes you may. I don't fly for a living anymore. Eagle and the state of the industry left me with really sour feelings regarding the job. Yes, I had some windows of opportunities open during my aviation career that I probably should have gone after, but we all make mistakes and we all must live with them. With that and some other personal reasons (like wanting to be home more), I went back to school while flying and got a second degree. I am now employed outside the field of aviation. Do I miss it? Yes, but there are many more things that I do not miss about it. Who knows, I might give it another go if the industry EVER picks up and my kid gets a little older. For now I "think" I'm happy with my decision, and yes I wish I would have made it about 4 years ago.