Originally Posted by
Bumper
Thanks for the responses. Some of the jobs I applied for only required 1500 not sure if they just want lower time guys= lower pay or my lack of recent time. Also wondering if after a few years in the metro if say Frontier, Jet Blue would be an option as well as corporate jobs or are the airlines strictly looking for RJ glass time.
I honestly think that they prefer low time pilots precisely so they can pay them less when it comes to 135/91 ops...from my experience in job searches and networking as much as I've been doing for 3 years it has always been the case. They are cheap, period. And they know they can only get away with that by offering jobs to guys that a. Really need a job (low time or unemployed) or b. Those that don't have the aviation street smarts to smell b.s a mile away...again, low time or inexperienced pilots.
Also, they only require 1500 but what kind of resumes are they receiving?? Probably higher than that, competition is always fierce, so do as much as you can to stand out...like being multi turbine current with some turbine pic.
I had a job offer this year to fly a Westwind as SIC in part 135. Pay was mid-high 30's, no expectation of a schedule or a personal life, no benefits, no type training guarantee -just talk of going to flight safety, and a 2 year contract; not to mention it's not a very common airplane -so how useful would that type have been? Pretty crappy if you ask me, but if you're a low timer who can handle all that and make a sacrifice, it may pay off as it did for one of their young pilots.
Had another job offer for corporate CL604 that seemed okay with pay/benefits but when I pushed the question of type training they always said it would be 12 months or sooner (but completely up to the owner). This was such a hot topic for them that the captain flat out said to me "this is why I prefer younger pilots than you and with less experience, they don't ask questions and take whatever I offer them"
I don't think you're a low timer, not from what I'm reading about people getting hired at JetBlue, frontier, spirit, and you'll be in a better position when you are current in turbine and some more jet time in your logbook; which you will have to chase down to achieve without going to a regional.
Whichever job you take in the end is up to you, if you can afford it and deal with the hardships it eventually pays off. It's no different than being a CFI for years or getting shafted at a regional; it's all a trade off and a sacrifice to reach the top. But I don't advocate taking jobs that just keep us all down, there's plenty of people willing to cut anyone's throat for some time.