Originally Posted by johnnysnow

Attention Folks! Hiring 18-21 year olds with little time is not a recent phenomena!

I know a guy named Gordon in Ft. Worth, TX. He's in his seventies and runs a dispatcher school, as well as teaches written prep at the local flight school. He worked for Pan Am for some ungodly amount of years starting in the 1950's. One day I asked him how he got his start, and he told me the story of how he interviewed after he graduated(High School), they liked him, and he got hired as an FO. I then asked him how much time he had when he got hired and he said "ZERO" That's right, goose egg on any type of flight training or education. That being said, how much more experience did he have than the average "300 wonder".

Now, before you start beating me over the head with a hammer, I am in no way advocating the hiring of low time pilots. I'm not necessarily against it either. I'm just saying it's been done before. The difference is of course the era.

Sixty years ago, an 18 year old was a man. He was expected to be hard working , responsible, and full of character. My grandfather who was part of that generation, held a full time job, while attending high school, and enlisted in the military after graduation. Today he would be considered an over achiever. Back then he was normal. Today, young people rarely have these 3 traits together, if they have them at all. To all you younger folks out there who don't think this applies to you, than maybe it doesn't. There are exceptions to every rule, and maybe your that exception, or maybe your not. I'm inclined to think as a general rule, the later is true. I point to things like wearing your eppaulettes "backwards" or my personal favorite "the backpack". For crying out loud, your an airline pilot! Your job is not just to fly the airplane, but to inspire confidence in the general flying public. The perception that you give off, as you stroll down the terminal with backpack and IPOD is not awe inspiring. I don't care if it was Chuck Yeager doing it. You could be the best pilot in the world, but who would know. Just like a uniformed pilot drinking in a bar is labeled a drunk. That may not be the reality, but it is always the perception that sticks with people. Sorry for going off topic, but the people I'm talking about know who they are. Others, this is not directed at you.


Your probably wondering were I'm going with this and I'm not quite sure my self. What I think I'm trying to say is that we can discuss all day long about what the magic number should be, but in the end it probably has more to do with each persons individual character rather than their specific experience. When I used to CFI, I would tell my students that you can teach a monkey how to fly a plane, but judgement is what makes a pilot. Some of that you can teach, alot of it you can't. This maybe a hard pill for some people to swallow, but the hard truth is that good pilots, as well as bad, exist at all ages, experience levels, and job descriptions.

Unfortunately, as I think all of us can agree, the system the airlines use to weed through applicants is flawed. There's a tremendous amount of emphasis put on experience and other factors, rather than on the individual. When I interviewed at the regional I worked for, it lasted 5 minutes. In and out, sim ride, offer 2 days later. I could have been a crackhead jonesing for a fix, and I don't think they would have noticed. I personally would much rather be judged by a potential employer by my charcter, rather than my experience, regardless of how much I have.