Originally Posted by
flyingreasemnky
Best advice I can give after being in this industry a while is to go to a company with under 1,000 pilots and is growing or has fast movement. A large company like RAH has so many pilots that in order to get an upgrade the shear numbers work against you. I had around 900 people below me after 2.5 years when I left RAH and upgrade still more than 2 years away. I am now at a company that has under 400. I have fewer people between me and a full upgrade than I did at RAH.
At a company with only 1,000 pilots, it would take a mere 20 pilots month leaving for 25 months for you to reach upgrade. Enough time to get your 1,000 121 SIC when taking into account training and reserve. At RAH with 20 pilots a month leaving (2400 pilots total), it would take 60 months (5 years) to reach 50% (~upgrade). Sure, the flood gates could open and attrition could really pick up but you can't realistically count on that.
Right now, I know people leaving the big regionals like RAH and Skywest for the small ones that see quicker movement. I think the mainline companies also are trying to shuffle the flying around to prevent a few regionals taking over and shifting the balance of power.
I am definitely not saying that you are wrong. However when comparing airlines (especially if they are two different sizes) it is best to look at percentage of attrition instead of total numbers. Theoretically, most airlines are going to have about the same attrition rates right now percentage wise.
This is due mainly to the fact that the industry was stagnate for five years and most of the people that are getting hired by other carriers have roughly the same qualification across the board (1000+ total hours TPIC with Check-airmen experience and/or military).
Moral of the story go where you will have the best QOL. Nothing in this industry is guaranteed, you might as well be happy/comfortable while you wait your turn at the left seat.