Rereading my post, I realize now how it could be taken wrong. "Good luck, you'll need it" was not meant as a negative comment towards the pilot asking about Atlas. Unfortunately, I failed to adequately convey that.
My intent was to wish this pilot, and all new hires for that matter, the best of luck navigating the Atlas Air training program. The program is designed to take pilots with thousands of hours flying international heavy aircraft and teach them how to fly our specific aircraft. The program is not designed to successfully train pilots with minimal time or little to no jet time and successfully train them. We have pilots with those backgrounds that make it but we also have many who do not.
Atlas Air new hire failure rate 30%
Southern Air new hire failure rate 60%
Without a redesign of the training program, we are really doing a major disservice to the careers of those who pass through the front door.