I spoke with Buzz Thompson today. He basically told me that to say that the internship program will increase your chances of getting hired by UPS is a false statement. It certainly can't hurt you, but it is not a substitute for experience. He still recommended me taking the progam. He also told me what the average qualified pilot posseses that is hired by UPS.
10-15 years in the industry
5000 flight hours.
1500-2000 PIC
All certificates and ratings
Transoceanic crossing experience.
A few more things he mentioned were that the military was a really long commitment. He said to do it if I want to. But if I want to stay civilian, I will have to work my way up from regional airline to bigger airlines that do transoceanic crossings. Also, the military will only work if I fly bigger planes. F-18 hours would not carry over to passenger aircrafts. He also recommended that the absolute first thing I do is get checked out by a physician to see if I'll even meet the medical requirements.
I also contacted SIU again and spoke to the same instructor/manager as before. I mentioned that I spoke with UPS's HR department directly and that they said her statement was false. She rebutted by saying that "it's something that they don't advertise because it's an insider thing in the industry." So basically she is saying that it does help, but UPS won't admit to that. I don't know who to believe.
Last edited by 7thgear; 07-26-2007 at 11:03 AM.