Originally Posted by
11atsomto
Your decision involves risk. How much risk are you willing to tolerate? It's tough but that's why you get paid the Big bucks.
I don't mean to be DOOMSDAY like with my correction above, nor do I forecast furloughs with the amount of retirements at UAL....however it is a possibility albeit in my opinion very remote.
I also do not advocate one or the other. That really is a YOU decision.
I'm not sure I totally understand your logic of 4 or 5 months later of a class date makes it a definitive No Go. Sure 4 months of people under you versus above you is huge.....but the differences of a career at SW and UAL remain the same.
I was in a similar situation as you (4.5 years at JB)....I will offer this piece of sobering advice: Giving up that amount of seniority is going to involve several if not many things getting worse before they get better.
Do not expect to see an improvement for a while.
For me, my first year at UAL, generally speaking I had fewer days off, was working more (legs per day), and all for a 48% discount in my labour for doing the same job. (NB FO)
I wasn't expecting it to be better right away....so I am not disappointed. It's the long GAME...remember that.
Also I picked the Year 4 May timeframe because of my seniority and also I have mil leave I gotta do next summer for a few months. So if I can’t get started before that, I’ll have to push back my availability until fall of 25. So now it becomes even more time pushed back.Timing is everything. I was hoping United could get me started sooner than later. I know other guys have been waiting on class dates for a while.
My concern is that, all it takes is for something in the Middle East to pop off or another black swan event and then all of us who got hired this past year are on the chopping block. If this was 2022/2023 again and things were moving, I think the risk would be less, but the hiring environment has changed and it’s a different decision today than it was a year or two ago.
is it still worth it? That I’m honestly not sure. Life is just different when you have responsibilities. I’m not 23 anymore with no kid. I also don’t want to work my whole life trying to climb the ladder. Definitely a tough decision.