My .02 worth
I’ve been at my legacy carrier for 27 years and in my entire career, I have only met one guy who left for a corporate job. In that same time, I’ve flown with countless guys/gals who came from corporate.
As everyone has said, there are good corporate gigs out there. However, the ones that would even come close to a legacy carrier can probably be counted on one hand.
185 grand to start is great money, however everyone here is making well above that in their second to third year. Unless that pay is going to double for you over the next 10 years, and give you 17% DC, then you’re making a horrible financial decision.
In regards to the making friends or the overnights. I have several friends with whom I flown with, trained with, sim’d with, or just started a BS conversation in the crew room with. In my opinion if you’re not making friends at your airline, I’d probably figure out why. Additionally, my understanding of corporate is that if the boss or any of the executives decide you’re not for them, then you’re gone. There’s absolutely no way on earth you could get me to take a job to where I’d have to kiss the bosses a** to ensure I keep my job.
As to going to the same places. I’d far rather go to the same place and stay at the Marriott or Hilton over, going to the middle of Wyoming in the middle of the winter and staying at the local Hampton Inn.
Another thing to consider is with your airline job, you’ll never have be a housekeeper. You’ll never vacuum the floor, serve the catering, service a toilet, and pick up grandma from the nursing home to go on vacation or whatever else they do. I hear stories about corporate guys and some of the crap they do and I always wonder why they even trained themselves to fly a jet if they’re going to service a toilet. That’s the equivalent of having a surgeon mop the floor, or a pro athlete clean up the stands after a game. Just incredible that guys actually do this stuff.