Originally Posted by flyinturbo

Hey all,

I interviewed on oct 7th and was tossed into the pool on the 16th via an email. No call yet to go to class.

I thought I'd touch a bit on my process and quals for others here:

I'm a 6300+ hr pilot with 2 regional FO seats (1 furlough) under my belt, some 135 air ambulance and most recently a CJ training capt flying 135 on demand around the US.

I thought my interview went very well and I was quite happy with myself for doing what I felt like a decent job! I'm sure the 3 letters of recommendation helped as well (thanks guys... really appreciate it!). I was pretty intimidated at the interview as I was surrounded by a number of very qualified and knowledgeable pilots from other heavy carriers (8 previous heavy pilots, I think?) with a couple of regional guys thrown into the mix.

I originally submitted my app on 7/15 and received an invite to do the online test on 7/30. Since I typically work 25+ days/mo with 13 - 14 hour, 5 - 6 leg days, I didn't have a chance to take the test for a few weeks. I finally took the test on a sit and scored a 78%. I thought the test was pretty tough and I used every minute to finish it (I had just over a minute on the clock when I did the last question!). I was then invited to the interview and given my choice of days. Since the 7th was literally my only day off, I chose that date. I had family fedex my suit to me and had it tailored on the road (it has been a while since I interviewed last...my jacket was a wee bit tight.. oops!). I also carried it around till the 7th in the nose of the plane I was flying. I worked a long schedule on the 6th, flying from LAX to TEB (fuel stop in MKC), then an airline to MIA for the interview. I arrived at the hotel around 1:30 am and got up at 5 to get ready. Needless to say, I was exhausted.

I kind of wished I had read this forum first but things worked out anyway. Looking back, I should have studied for the test, hoping for a higher score. I took the test cold and relied on knowledge to get me through. I think I got pretty darn lucky instead!

Reading this forum from about the 200 page mark, I see kind of what I expected to see... a mix of happy and unhappy pilots. There seems to be some really excellent information from quite a few really knowledgeable folks, thank you so much for the time and energy you put in here. It's good Atlas has negotiations coming up, perhaps a few of the complaints will get fixed. I've read a LOT about changes to schedules. 135 charter really has taught me about being flexible with schedule as the schedule I was delivered the night before was almost never what was factual. There were many times I'd get a sat phone call on a part 91 repo flight asking me to divert because a trip popped up. Change is the only constant!

I actually really enjoy the work I do now and have considered not leaving, but with no payscale, no retirement and a choice between QoL or decent pay, I think I'll be better off at Atlas.

I'm also quite humbled by a number of posters here who've been applying for what appears to be years and no phone calls. Sorry fellas, not sure how I got lucky, but I did.

Looking forward to class and getting online. The schedule will be a relief for me.. with 17 days being way less than I'm used to working. My QoL will be improved dramatically.

Thank you again for all the amazing information delivered here. I hope to pay it forward someday to someone like me.