Originally Posted by
Pilot6343
I am happy at my regional Envoy with pay and QOL living in base and am only at 270 hours and have a line now with 70 hours a month. I have a CJO/class date with Spirit. Spirits training looks pretty rough and unorganized document wise, with at least the documents they have sent me so far. I would be able to also live in base with Spirit but would take the pay cut considering I will upgrade to Captain in around a year if I stayed including captain pay at 750 hours. My plan is to leave either of them at the first sign of a legacy. Is it worth staying for that Turbine PIC or the A320 type rating but also a risk of failing a check ride when life’s good right now. Also I do enjoy my regionals flight benefits but it is always a risk that “the music stops playing and it collapses and I’m stuck at a regional vs a major.
You’ve sort of laid out the pros and cons as I see them. But you’ve now got a type rating and you know you can do it. Don’t live in fear of the dreaded ‘jeopardy’ events. Everything you do including routine checks is a jeopardy event if you don’t take it seriously, but you’ve proved you can do it. Sure, if you’ve got a marriage breaking up or a sick kid or whatever, that might not be the time you want to put in for upgrade or take on a type-rating, but don’t let that control your career choices under normal circumstances. What you have is clearly working for you now, just pay attention to what’s going on in hiring at the level you ultimately desire and flying at the level you are at, and reevaluate what’s best for you - at least quarterly.