Originally Posted by
bradthepilot
One of the most surprising things to me, transitioning from engineering to the airlines, is that pilots only need to be "adequate". There is no reward or recognition for holding a heading +/- one degree instead of the +/- ten degrees, for example.
The pilots who push, nonetheless, for +/- one degree are the ones I want to fly with. In my brief and junior experience, those are also the ones that attract attention from major airlines, LCA or not (mostly not).
YMMV, of course.
Yes, that's what the majors are looking for. Either because it's a cultural fit for their operation, or because they believe (possibly backed by stats) that that type of pilot is safer.
I did notice a change from regional to legacy cockpit. Standardization and professionalism are much better. Very rarely is anyone blowing stuff off. If you're looking to move on, don't let your deviance get too normalized, they might pick up on that at the interview.