I won't go into my own, long story but let it suffice to say there is no dirty laundry attached to it...I wasn't fired, asked to leave or anything other than just took an early retirement for a new opportunity with a new, much smaller company. The role was an executive management role. The company filed for BK 22 months later and eventually transitioned that into Chapter 7 and thus stopped ALL operations and went out of business.

So here I am, mid 50s looking for work like so many others. I am NOT looking for sympathy by instead sharing some experiences. I've applied for several hundred jobs at this point. I've been hired by many and turned down many more because they didn't fit my needs, expectations, wants or geographical requirements.

What I have learned on this journey, is that there are a lot of operators out there who really "jack around" potential employees.
This is done either by lengthy, ridiculous interview processes or simply taking their sweet ass time to respond or hire.

Whatever happened to the Nationwide Pilot shortage? Whatever happened to common decency or professional courtesy? Maybe I'm just too old? I certainly hope this doesn't come across as being bitter because I am not. This is the card life dealt and I'm playing it the best I can.

I would love to hear of your own stories in all career stages. Tell me I am wrong and should have hope in this career which I've had a passion for since 15! Be easy on me

 

takes time. How long have you been trying?

 

I guess a lot has to do with the type of job you are pursuing. Are you still looking for the "executive mgmt" type jobs or are you trying to fall back on your piloting credentials?
If it were the first, then maybe getting into any spot on mgmt is the way to get your foot in the door at an established corp, otherwise it's probably like you previously tried, with a start-up type company with the potential to turn that experience into something bigger.

It seems like a lot of mgmt types come from non-pilot backgrounds, maybe partly because the pilot world can be sufficiently lucrative for many, also may be a bit of distrust of mgmt types who think the pilot may not be able to effectively "manage" other pilots, sort of in the planet of the apes vein of "ape will not hurt ape", although more than a few have made that transition just fine.

Like in the corporate world where I know a few pilots who rise to the highest level of their corporations flight ops dept, but would not be considered really for anything else the corporation was doing.

Ironically, I know of two pilots at my company who started with us as corporate attorneys but at some point decided to go and get their ATP on their own, on the side to apply and eventually become line pilots!

 

When it comes to AA and probably most other airlines today the selection process for the interview is done by HR. They use some sort of filtration system to filter through all the resumes. It's anyone's guess what parameters they set. Buddy of mine has his app on file with AA, Delta, and United for 2 years, no calls He exceeds the preferred requirements and has additonal boxes checked (union work). My suggestion is.. apply, update, update. You mentioned you worked at AA (assuming based on your profile name) for a while, call everyone you still talk to and ask for letters of recommendations. Good luck man!

 

Ha! Two years!? Try 5 for this guy before a call. And I know plenty others who have better resumes than mine who have been waiting longer for calls just to have the opportunity to interview. There may be a pilot shortage out there, but mainline jobs still aren't raining from from the sky upon all those who deserve them.

 

Yup.
I can get calls from bottom feeder airlines who promise one thing and deliver another all day long...
Honest, decent jobs for pilots are still the exception and not the rule.

 

There has never been a pilot shortage. There is no pilot shortage. There won't be.

 

I wasn't saying there are pilots who haven't been waiting much longer then my buddy. It was just an example of the wait to come. AA especially can be a very long wait, thanks to flow obligations.

 

You're 100% correct. As per FAA ~ 10,000 issued certificates per year since 2007. As the pilot pay goes up at the regional more and more pilots will come out of hiding.

 

Civilian trained. Hired on at a great 121 Supplemental carrier at age 30. I figured I'd retire from there. Shut down in 2014. I went to an upstart airline while finishing my BS degree. That job ended in 2017. I'm working at a regional carrier now with flow to mainline at 51. I used to feel sorry for the old guys when I was young. Then carma came my way. The only piece of advice is to push forward and not look too far back. The guys from my old gig have scattered and some are doing better than others. Sometimes taking a step back will make going forward easier in the end.