Originally Posted by
Talon1011
It's important for everyone thinking of working for Atlas, or any ACMI outfit for that matter, to reread this thread and note all the information about what life is like. The schedules do change daily and deadheading is no small part of what happens. This is a great place to be but only if it fits into your view of life. If you kind of like leaving home not knowing where you'll wind up then it will work. If schedule changes, many legs with few landings (we heavy crew just about all flights because of length), and maneuvering around the world to match up with your airplane cause difficulty then it probably won't. That's not to put anybody down at all. All jobs aren't a fit for all people. Please just be realistic about the ACMI world and find out what it holds before joining. These are a lot of hoops to jump through and a couple months spent out of your life just to find out that it's not a good fit.
Talon, you are spot on.
While I'm not going to begrudge anyone for leaving for a better opportunity, I do have to wonder if guys are going into this kind of a job with rose-colored glasses.
I'm not going to repeat what has already been said (in 98 pages) but for those of you that are even remotely considering a move to Atlas, please be realistic about what this job is all about. It is not one where we can leave home with a schedule and expect to fly that beyond the first leg...sometimes not even that. But then you have already read all that in these pages.
The real shame of it is that someone leaving after only a few months leave a spot that could have been filled by someone else...both for the company (from a cost standpoint), and the prospective pilot that didn't get that class assignment.
So, please keep your expectations in check even though you have just started, what some here have said is the dream job...that's is up for debate, but you get the point.