Originally Posted by
FlyJSH
What? you don't like the idea of a pilot, check that, a future 121 Captain, having experience making real decisions while keeping a schedule?
Instructing is great. I learned more about manipulating an airplane in the first 100 hours of instructing than I did in 1000 hours of doing anything else.
BUT, my flight school still had limits on when I could fly, where, and when. It wasn't until I flew a Caravan hauling boxes that I learned about flying a line.
When I am on a hiring team hiring a civilian pilot, CFI or aerobatic pilot (for airmanship) AND scheduled flying (for real world experience) are tops on my list.
So sorry if you think the 2-3 years it takes to get that experience is too long.
I don't disagree with anything in your post besides the fact that it's only going to take 2-3 years. That's assuming you can even find a job as a CFI, then a job as a 135 freight operator, then a job at a regional, and then you're finally looking at a job at a major. For most, it will take 5-10 years.
As for having a four year degree vs military experience...
College is you paying to put up with a ton of BS and still pushing through it, which makes it easy to walk away from or skip altogether for many.
The military is you getting paid to put up with a ton of BS, which makes it hard to walk away.
Also, there's no reason why you couldn't have done reserves/guard/rotc right out of high-school should you have desired. You took the easy road out, now you have to take the hard road back in.