Old 09-12-2017, 03:22 PM
  #17  
Lurchi
Trying to Train
 
Joined APC: Mar 2017
Posts: 57
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Count,

Only you can answer this question....after you sift through everyone's biased point of view. Some things to think about:
1) What really matters to you? is it money, flying, quality of life, gardening in the back yard, leading people, achievement, surfing, skiing, family time...this list goes on, but how you answer this question determines a great deal. A lot of my Mil buddies that got out as soon as possible in order to get an airline job now feel "less than fulfilled" and are pursuing things in their off time like PhD, starting business, teaching, etc. Others are completely enjoying the time off and pursuit of personal hobbies that the airline life allows. Others that stayed in for 25-30 yrs are completely satisfied with what they achieved in the military and are happy to now just fly as little as possible and enjoy all the things their life in the military did not allow (not being on the road). Others that got out for "quality of life" have decided that they now need to seek max money so they can afford that turbo speedster to add spice to their life and are commuting to sit reserve in order to get Captain pay...(not a great lifestyle unless the money makes it worth while somehow)
2) Even without military recency you can still get hired by a major within a year of separation...sooner if you plan correctly. One buddy got out after flying fighters and did not fly for 8 years then started instructing in a C-172 followed by a year with a regional and is now at Delta...and he loved his time with the regional and was very happy for all of the 121 experience it allowed him to gain. (Delta will look for 100 hours in the past 12 months in anything (Cessna 172 is fine), United will look for complex time within the last year or so. Not sure what SouthWest, American, FedEx, UPS look for.
3) Where do you want to live? Is that a domicile for one of the airlines you are interested in? Are you willing to move? Getting paid to sit reserve at home in your underwear versus commuting the day prior to sit reserve in a hotel or crash pad could be a factor on how motivated you are to leave the military right away.
- It looks like the airline hiring will remain strong for the next several years, you may choose to stay in the military if you enjoy it and go to the airlines once the mil lifestyle, enjoyment, sense of achievement etc... starts to lose its attraction. But again this really depends on what makes you tick...which is a question that only you can answer. On the other hand, the sooner you get hired the more money you will make in the long run and the longer you will have to build seniority quality of life...if those are things that matter most to you.
- There is no "correct" answer....just your answer. It is great to have 1st world problems like this to deal with, best of luck with your choice!
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