For every 1 pilot that is hired at SWA, how many people do you suppose payed for a 737 type that don't get the job? From the folks I know that have attempted to go this route and have not been successful in being hired by SWA, getting a job elsewhere has been very difficult with the "SWA Type" on their ticket. The question will come up in future interviews, "Why do you have this type if you have never flown a 737?", and they will avoid you like the plague because they know what your long term goal is. The type rating itself is basically worthless without time in type. Does anyone know if SWA has hired a pilot in recent times without the type? If getting hired is contingent apon getting a type rating, and otherwise qualified applicants are turned down, I would say that SWA's policy does negatively impact the profession. I'll go out on a limb here and say that the majority of us would probably not like to see this develop into the industry norm, where every airline would expect us to pay for a type as a condition of employment. So please explain, how can you defend this policy?