The last 3 posters are mentioning 121 PIC time, however the relevant requirement for this discussion is turbine PIC time which is not necessarily 121 PIC time.

Fair enough, for clarity I had no TPIC time

Take the LCC. I don't think there's a "path" to a major. It's all a bunch of luck nowadays and good connections. Like most people said you rather be at an LCC when the music stops. TPIC doesn't seem to be as important as it once was.

I'm about to hit 1000 PIC, and will hit the LCC's a little bit harder now. First year pay at some of the LCC is a little tough, but 2nd year is back to where most junior regional CA's are now.

Plus whose to say today's LCC's won't be tomorrow's "legacies?" When Southwest was a small LCC, how many guys turned their nose only to get furloughed by AA or UA? Look at the guys that did take the gamble and are young senior guys at SW now.

The big difference is SW had (still has?) a culture of respect between the company and its employees and customers. I can't speak for all LCCs but right now at F9 the only thing that matters is the bottom line regardless of the collateral damage. I know morale at the legacies hasn't always been rosy but at the very least they are starting to pay lip service to keeping their employees happy. I don't think that will ever be the case at the ULCC level. The pay will eventually be respectable in comparison to the Big 4 but I don't think we'll ever be treated like professionals.

Bump...

I'm in the same boat. Upgrade or try something else. Company has a flow, but it'll be another 5 or so years. I can hopefully make it to a major before then. And who knows, maybe I'll love a LCC. I'm not convinced TPIC is a golden ticket yet either. Decisions :/

Not all LCCs are created equal. Neither, for that matter are regionals. Going from SkyWest to Frontier involves different math than going from Mesa to Jet Blue.

FOs are getting hired at legacies and there are guys with 10,000 TPIC that can't get the call, but TPIC definitely seems to be an asset. What I see in the [regional] FOs that get hired is a diverse resume. Active in the community and at their airlines. X hours of anything probably won't get you hired alone unless you are well connected. Will switching to the LCC improve or reduce your abilities to be involved with training/recruiting/union/saftey departments? Will the switch give you more or less time to volunteer or otherwise be active in your local neighborhood/school/church?

Can anyone tell me what the heck volunteer activities have to do with getting a job? Not to mention I bet 98% of it is BS on people's resume.
Hey Bill, I know you want that general surgeon position at General Hospital, ya got some volunteer time at the church to show the interviewer?

You're jousting at the windmills bro. The reality is that in a business where your position description is defined as being a carbon copy of your competition for the job, there's nothing in your job performance that can differentiate you, and TT has long been debunked as indicative of improved performance. Even sparse checkride failures is not indicative of much, and even then the market is grade-inflated towards perfect checkride scores, so it becomes useless still.

That's why ballwash discriminators like unrelated formal education or social feel-good extracurriculars are used to rack n stack. Don't like it? You'll have to find employment that allows you to pitch your employability based on discriminators you find relevant to your condition.

But you already knew all this and are probably just venting. I get that. Your surgeon comparison is not useful, they have much more market leverage than an airline pilot, contrary to what the myth of pilot shortage may lead aspirants to believe. It sucks I know, our parents just had to be qualified and have a pulse and they had a career. We're born too late for that. Sink or swim.

If it's any consolation...the last few round trip tickets I bought have been from AA. Most of the time they are actually the cheapest option as I've paid significantly less than I would have on JB or Frontier so I think the LCC model is kind of subjective.

I don't believe 1000 TPIC means anything anymore, I would take the first opportunity and get out of the regionals.