Debating Jumping ship
 

Hello everyone,

So was wondering if I can get some info and advice about returning back to the United States.. Was living in the United States previously back in the early 2000 job prospects as a airline pilot was extremely low and when I graduated and finished flying school I was practically broke....opted to go overseas and was blessed with a good start flew the B737-CL as a start and then jumped to a Major international airline in the M.E flying the B777/787. I have more than 5000 jet time and I also have my FAA unrestricted ATPL with the B777 rating.... Hardly have any PIC time... how is it back there majors and what are my prospects and recommendations??

Things are current pretty good, hiring & all.

Your PIC time may be light for most majors. Once at a regional there’s no guarantee of progression to a major. Of course there’s the whole spectrum between regional to top tier major, could be just fine.

Besides flight time there’s the rest of the application, education, driving/training record, maybe even a box or two that gets one to the top of the stack.

Since there aren’t any guarantees, one has to evaluate for their individual situation & act upon what makes sense for them. Let’s not leave out individual initiative. What’s possible for one, can seem impossible for the next.

So yes, times are good but it still takes some effort. Going back awhile, one could walk above water & still not get a great job.

Mid-tier/ULCC majors might value your experience more than most top-tier majors. I know several people from a similar situation who all work for mid-tier/ULCC now.

Without TPIC, you're not much different than a regional FO as as the top-tier is concerned.

Once you get some PIC FDX/UPS might be more appreciative of your heavy international time.

Apply and see. Subscriptions to airlineapps and pilotcredentials are cheap so you can toss out your resume to a dozen or more airlines just to see who bites. Cheap and easy, and the interview invites you get will help inform you as to your options.

Also, see if you can get into one of the big career fairs or airline-specific job expos. That could easily be worth the price of the plane ticket and hotel if it results in an interview.

Would you say the same thing of someone in a similar situation to the OP albeit with a bit more time (10k), plus around 600 TPIC? Asking for a friend.

About the same. 600 isn't much. Also 10k TT is getting long of tooth, too much more might be problematic, ie "over qualified" for the best jobs. Code for "too old".

Civilian sweet spot, last I heard, is around 5-8k TT, 2-4K TPIC.

But as was mentioned, apply to anyone you'd like to work at, there are always outliers so you never know.

It’s “checking a box” having the TPIC, but you’d probably need all the regular extracurriculars/point drivers.

Volunteer/community service, additional job titles, etc.