Originally Posted by
peaches
We have seen in the past that refusing low pay will better our industry. The airlines use to pay nothing, so people went to the 135 side. Then the airlines started paying better, people started moving back over to 121 carriers so 135 guys started to raise their pay. And the cycle should continue as such. With the new PSA payscale coming out I believe that other regionals will follow suit (if they havent already) that will force all companies to either match or raise their pay or risk losing their employees.
The first thing I tell my old flight students when they text me asking about jobs is "Your aviation education and experience is valuable. Know your worth."
Everyone has to make their own decisions and a career in this industry has and always will been a crapshoot.
Let me tell you about a good friend of mine. I met him in the mid 90’s when he was a CFI going through a career change in his late 30’s. Back then that was like someone today switching to aviation on their mid 50’s.
In the 90’s most regionals had pay for training. You had to pay $10,000 (mid 90’s dollars) for your initial training at Flight Safety for an FO position at a regional. After that you had to suffer through pathetic new hire pay. $12,000 a year comes to mind.
My friend saw most of his fellow instructors go to Continental Express with pay for training. Continental Express had a true flow through to Continental at the time. My friend refused to go to any regional that had pay for training on principle.
He ended up going the 135 route flying King Airs
and worked his way to CA and then to Chief Pilot. He stayed there for several years and had me walk in his paperwork to Continental at around the same time his former CFI buddies were flowing up to Continental.
I was told by the head of Hiring at Continental in the late 90’s, my friend needed 121 time and they wouldn’t look at him seriously until he had some. I argued he had several thousand hours turbo prop PIC and was a Chief Pilot. That landed on deaf ears.
Based on that my friend left his cushy corporate job for American Eagle, one of only two or so regionals at the time that didn’t have pay for training. They were a sought after Regional (because of No PFT) and hired much higher time pilots. Most had several thousand hours and at least a few hundred to 500 multi on average. They also averaged an 8 year upgrade vs. a year or two at all PFT regionals. Other Regionals with PFT we’re hiring 1000 to 1500 hour pilots.
My friend stayed through 9/11 then left for North American a former 757/757 charter airline. He stayed there until 2005 when I helped him get on with Continental.
All his friends who went to Continental Express in the late 90’s through pay for training (my friend could had easily gone to COEX when all his friends did) and were at least 1000 to 1500 numbers ahead of him on the seniority list and never furloughed after 9/11. After the merger of United and Continental that seniority difference became several thousand numbers.
Today he is a bottom reserve CA on the 737 in Houston. All his friends that did PFT are mid level 737/A320 Or lower tier 757/767 CA’s. His career is significantly worse because of the path he chose based on principal and its cost him at least half a million to a million in career earnings and most importantly significantly less quality of life.
At an airline seniority is everything and get there as fast as you can. In this business you never know when the music will stop. When it does you hope your at a good place career wise.
To each his/her own and good luck to all. If it was me and the pilots I train and mentor. I tell them to go to Southern and get the time and move on ASAP. Flying a 100 hours a month You’ll be a far better trained pilot and very much ready for the transition to the regionals vs as being a CFI.