Back in the US
 

Looking for some advice from the great experience in this forum. About 7 years ago my family and I moved to a different country (for family related reasons) and I found a flying job in that country. Since COVID started my job security is, well, not as secure as it used to be. We are looking into going back to the US but want to make sure I (as the primary breadwinner) have a flying job waiting. I am not current with the US aviation industry and not in contact with my US pilot (ex)friends.

Here are my basic stats:

6500+ total hours. ~4000 B737 or B747 hours. In the past Flew 2.5 years in the US regionals. No turbine PIC time. Associate degree. 40 years old. Clean records.



Is it likely for me to get into Delta/American/United with these stats? Thanks in advance

Atlas.
MIA is a 74 base(albeit very senior) and will be a 77 base in March.
Stick around for 1-2 years and decide where to go.
Lots of changes since Sept so go back and read the last 6 months.
https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/a...olar-southern/
Any questions ask them here.

The lack of turbine PIC and no Bachelors degree will be serious impediments (but not necessarily outright barriers) to being hired at a legacy.

An ULCC would likely snap you up. Ideally one that flies Airbus, so you can demonstrate train ability by gaining a new type. At that point you can decide if you want to push hard for legacy/SWA/FEDEX/UPS.

Lack of a bachelors is still an impediment to the top jobs, but not the brick wall it once was. Hire an interview prep service to ensure you are maximizing what you have on your resume. You absolutely should be able to support your family as a pilot in the US. The only question is how far into the six figures is reasonable to obtain.

Thank you all for your great answers. Does anyone here think just having a degree will make me instantly more marketable to Legacy carriers? There are options to go from Associate to Bachelors pretty quickly

Even with a Bachelors, the lack of multi-turbine PIC will be an impediment.

A number of legacies don't require TPIC though, so checking one of those two boxes will be critical for getting a look IMO.

Not having the degree puts into a very special category of applicants who will generally only be considered if they have VERY diverse and extensive aviation experience and credentials... various large jet types, international, training, flight ops management, etc. Also possibly identity politics, but that might be limited to non-Caucasian females.

Getting the degree gets you out of that category, and then the "conventional wisdom" rules about competitive experience apply.

Most or all of the top-tier no longer "require" TPIC, but it is still very much a competitive factor. Exception seems to be very young regional FO's with college plus other whole-person resume bullets.

yes. Yes it will

CRJail,

We're in a similar predicament.
- 4600 TT / 3400 hrs in B737 / 450 hrs PIC in B737 all overseas and zero part 121 experience. (US citizen of course.)
- Aviation Bach degree.
- Also no US pilot friends, in other words no internal recommendations.

People already commented on the first 2 items but how much would it hurt my chances if I don't have any internal rec? Or what about submitting an app without any recommendation?

Thank you in advance..

Every company uses internal recs differently. That said, a significant number of people get hired without them.