I think his comments were more of a generalization of other industries. Successful or not, most industries don't have you start over at the bottom if you have the experience(this of course is another generalization). Hell, at my regional we had ATA heavy pilots applying to be FO's on the RJ just a few months ago after they lost their jobs. They got past the interviews, but unfortunately that didn't help them get the FO job once we announced a hiring freeze and furloughs...