Originally Posted by
Muredhawk
Honestly I don't think it really matters. Flying Ability, drive, study habits, and good attitude have been the main difficulties of candidates in the past. (shocker) Figure out if the schedule is ok to you, throw an app and rock the interview. Come into training with no BS attitude and you'll do great. You will be given all the resources you need to succeed. Some of the best candidates coming through the program have 0 jet time. The two recent best have had under 2000 hours of total time.
It is what you make of it
^^^Listen to this guy. He went from having only flown a King Air to the left seat of an MD-11 in less than a year. Upgrade at WGA is based on performance alone. If you can show a great understanding of the MD-11 and international ops with a natural PIC attitude you will do just fine and upgrade quick. Just be eager to learn and soak up everything the old freight dogs have to share.
Having flown in the Air Force, at WGA, and now at a Major airline I can honestly say some of the best pilots are freight dogs. There is way more to getting the job done on the road than just the flying part. And that's the part I miss and don't miss.