Originally Posted by
pilotflyer94
I'm getting myself ready to apply at Delta in 3-4 years as it's my dream company to work for. Not being military is a huge disadvantage for me. I've been trying to gather as much information as I can about everything I can do to be the most competitive I can by then. Any tips you guys can give? Should I apply to work at my union? I know training department experience definitely helps. Should I finish my degree at any college just to have the degree or should I go into something like Embry Riddle or some other bigger college? I could definitely push the limit and transfer if that is something that would stand out but if they only care if you have a degree it would help me a lot if I could save the money. Anybody have any feedback on this?
Not being military isn't nearly the disadvantage you may think it is. The balance is shifting (and may already be) towards majority civilian pilots simply due to availability. While military will likely remain an advantage all things equal, you will have an excellent chance if you go the civilian route as long as you do your part WRT the other things you're already aware of.
As for union work or training department etc, those things do help round out your resume. However I wouldn't do any of them at the expense of your flying resume. For example some Seniority List Instructors at DL can fly well under 200 hours a year. If that's the case where you are, trying to get that "plus" on your resume can cost you thousands of hours you might need just to be competitive on that front for the same timeframe.
IMO take care of your flight resume and get your degree. No one really cares if its from a big box school as long as its accredited and it doesn't seem to matter what its in (IOW it doesn't need to be an "aviation" degree). Do your best to get a good GPA.
Military is great all things equal. It depends on your circumstances. Getting in and getting to the other side of all the flight training could eat up a couple years of your time for a few hundred hours on your resume. Eventually it will be a net positive, but you have to weigh the time commitment as well as the everything it entails. Its not always "just one weekend a month" and its not all flying. And while it does help some and likely always will, its absolutely not an automatic ticket to any airline you want. Not even close. Also, you will need a degree for that anyway. Since you mentioned 3-4 years as your current goal, that may not work. That said, any timeframe and any airline goals need to be kept flexible. The industry is fickle to say the least. Always work towards your goal, but understand the pilot hiring universe often operates in a "plus or minus a decade" time dilation for personal goals that may seem very reasonable at the moment.
Get good flight time, get your degree, do your best with your GPA. Just those things will eat up the vast majority of the 3-4 year timeline you mentioned. If you do a lot of non fying things, even if it seems to help, it could add several years to the same point in your logbook. Perhaps you have safety committee or ASAP event review board stuff you could get into that would add value but still keep you flying most of the time? Once you get to the competitive flight time regime, you can then look into those opportunities that greatly slow down that part of your resume. Also find something you genuinely like to do to help out, like volunteer once in a while at Habitat or the local food bank or animal shelter, Pilots For Kids, etc.
Just my $2 van tip. Best of luck.