Originally Posted by
rickair7777
??? If you are worried about your family, your QOL, and paying your mortgage, mesa is the one of the last places you want to go to work. You probably need to go back to whatever you were doing before and maybe reevaluate aviation in 2012.
In boom times it is possible to at least make the weak argument that you are just doing it for the fast upgrade...but why the hell would sit stagnant on mesa's seniority list for $23/hour??? You mentioned moving on to something better...well all the better jobs are being eroded away by people who are willing to work as airline pilots for $25K.
You said you're not just some kid, great...you should know better than to let yourself be taken advantage of.
You do get bonus points for flying a turboprop though.
Agreed.
At first glance, it can be rationalized that one is getting a paycheck and staying close. But, the flipside is that the longer you stay, the more risk you put your family in by working for a carrier with such a shabby reputation. Carriers like this don't play fair with anyone (employees and customers alike) and sooner or later they (and you) are likely in a bad place to be.
Mesa has burned its candle quite long, but now most, if not all the majors will have nothing to do with it. Those that have a current relationship will almost certainly abandon it ASAP and those that don't will have little interest. In the case of Mesa, the writing has been on the wall since the late 80's when they paid pilots by the mile. If you're a kid living with mom or dad (or can go back to), then I can see playing around there, but if you're not (especially with family and children), Mesa is, was and always will be a bad move for anything other then an interim 6-12 month period to buy time to agressively find something stable and reputable.
If you need to get your cart get up a hill and the only thing available is an old fleabitten swayback nag, then go for it. But once up the hill, unhitching your cart is the smartest move. If not done, that old nag may fall on you when it flops over dead.
Just my opinion, though.