Originally Posted by
kaputt
It looks like in the past they have strongly favored hiring former military aviators.
Some factors here tend to make this observation more prevalent than it might really be in reality.
First - federal hiring practices help prior military with Veteran's Preference points towards an application. I'm sure you are familiar, and if not, you should educate yourself on what you should expect upon your retirement. In leaner hiring environments like when I was hired, it would be nearly impossible to be hired on an EXTERNAL announcement (one open to the general public) without Veteran's Preference points.
Secondly, there is an active duty Air Force Detachment that does the same job we do. They train with the FAA, they fly with the FAA, we operate from the same play/rule book, etc.... In the past, an Air Force Flight Checker could retire on Friday wearing his flight suit (ICONUS they wear civilian clothes), and show up on Monday in civvies and there would be ZERO transition required.
So yes....the FIS is heavily populated by military types - and of the military types it is heavily populated by USAF types, and of USAF types it is heavily populated by AMC types.
Many of the civilian pilot population comes from within the gov't and particularly from within the FAA itself in the former of INTERNAL announcements. We have quite a few former ASI/FSDO types, ATC controllers, TERPSters, etc....
With the current pilot market nationwide, is it more likely that the FAA would consider hiring someone with a pure civilian flying background?
Yes. The market and competition for pilots is as strong in the gov't flying positions as it is anywhere else. If you want to be an airline pilot - now is certainly a good time; so many of the USAF pilots who have generally transitioned in the FAA are choosing he airline path. I have no doubt that in the current hiring environment with this latest announcement that we will see quite few civilian only background candidates.
Would a regional first officer or captain that is also a military veteran be competitive for this job?
Yes. We have a few former airline types in the ranks. Most of them got out of the airlines, became ASIs, and have now come to FIS.
Is there anything I could do in the future to strengthen my resume that would make someone without military flight time stand out?
No...not really in my opinion. The time stand out would be during the interview process. FLEXIBILITY is certainly key and something that even those of us who are use to constantly changing requirements usually take some time getting use too. Personally, I think that some time spent in aerial survey is the closest thing to this job. There is a mission between takeoff and landing, flying tightly control patterns with precision aircraft handling can be required, working extremely close with ATC in some very busy airspace after conducting briefs/telecons/exchanging maps of required maneuvering, flying down low most of the time - often conducting opposite direction approaches at pilot controlled fields, etc..... It is a different type of flying from anything that you will have done in the past.
I personally believe that there will be hiring for the foreseeable future in the absence of more threats of gov't shutdowns and the like. USA JOBS and announcements like those linked in this thread are the best places to keep an eye on; has we may know that they are looking to hire, but they do not announcement the release of announcements so we find out from others that application windows are open.
Good luck.