Originally Posted by
Saabless
16 years. 9-11, terrible economy and age 65 didn't help. However, I enjoyed being home almost every day, not commuting, working for a good solid company with an above average contract and excellent quality of life. Most people overlook quality of life. Marriage and family were always number one with me. Career and money was next. I survived off low pay for a couple years, but as a captain was making 100k. I budgeted my life off of that amount and was happy. Envoy has a great 401k match as well. Not to mention free travel on AA. And once you get to AA, they give you 16% of your salary into your 401k for free. Not bad. First year pay is around $80/hr and second year pay is $115 at AA. Slow down and smell the roses. Don't follow the crowd jumping ship to the fastest upgrade. Your wife and family will thank you for the stability.
Exactly...I could go to any fast upgrade regional. I might be poor, but the QOL and time with my wife is more important than being a CA. Just got a 5 days off stretch, things are not perfect here, but are not as bad as people want to present them.
There's always a "better place", I've been here when things were great, then BK/PSA hit us hard for about 3 years. Things are starting to feel back stable and movement is about to be faster than 2011 when CAs were going to AA.
I would say that anyone hired in 2014/2015/2016 will be in a great position. The upgrade might not come down to 2.5 years, but there will be steady movement for a while.