For whatever its worth to the people trying to decide, I officially turned down UAL for SWA today. I am finishing up class and after a ton of research I calculated that the money is really a wash between the two. I am coming from a heavy international back ground and I really don't care about that anymore. Since I will live in base with whatever company it was most important to me to work less total days and not deal with the **** show UAL reserve typically is. Also stability was very important to me and my wife (who got a vote in this). The kicker for me was the ridiculous flexibility and non-PBS scheduling that no one offers but SWA. All that being said if you really want to work at a "Classic" legacy, UAL is probably going to be a fine place to work. I have friends who have been there between 1-3 years and they totally dig it. One even left SWA for UAL. But not a single one of them said I should switch. They all said United is a good place to work but SWA is pretty awesome too. No one can tell the future and the pay at either company is a lot. This is a really personal and individual decision and I was really lucky to have a choice. They both offer unique advantages and disadvantages that will speak differently to different people. Anybody crapping on either airline flat out don't get it. Go with whats important to you and you will probably end up where you are supposed to be. Good luck and I hope you all end up with your dream job. Let the haters give themselves ulcers justifying their world view.