Originally Posted by
lancejohnson
I'm considering jumping ship at 17 years and finishing out in the reserves in order to make a run at the majors.
-Obtaining a AD retirement in the reserves is most likely not an option for me.
-I'm a helo guy with 1000hrs of FW multiengine turbine. I may or may not be able to pick up another FW flying tour to finish out my 20 but would likely fly less than 500 hours during that tour.
-I'm way over active duty for the same reasons everyone is and should have gotten out earlier.
-Financially I have a low 7 figures in the bank and have young kids with a wife who works.
My concern with staying in:
-My main concern is putting up with 3 more years of crappy active duty QOL to then transition to the airlines on the backside of the wave in 2025 and then have crappy airline QOL due to low seniority.
My concerns with getting out:
-It ends up taking me 3 years to get to a major anyway with my current low FW hours
-COVID or another event disrupts hiring again.
Interested in hearing any and all perspectives. Thank you
Before things wound down in Afghanistan I would have recommended you join a guard or reserve tanker unit and fly your butt off (I.e. deploy a bunch) for a year to build heavy multi engine time. Unfortunately, Covid caused airline guys to flood back to their guard and reserve safety blanket and the demand for volunteers to fly has also likely dropped. If you can snag a UPT IP or PIT slot on active duty, I would do that. It sounds like you have your finances well in hand. That means that even as a junior airline guy you won’t feel the pressure to maximize compensation. Unless you really want to be an airline guy, just relax, invest your 7 figure savings wisely and you will retire very comfortably.