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ATP vs small school

Old 03-26-2019, 07:43 AM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by Macchi30 View Post
So i was in the exact same situation as you a year ago. I was seriously considering ATP. But, I ended up just staying at my local small school. My thoughts over the past year

Small school:
Pros

-I saved about $15,000
-guaranteed CFI job (with medical and dental benefits)
-small school vibe, they actually seem to care about my progression

Negatives:
-slow. What I could have done in 6-7 months at ATP took me a year
-Our fleet isn’t as big as our demand for airplanes. So when an airplane goes into maintenance it messes up a lot of bookings

so I don’t really know. Sometimes I wish I did ATP because I would have finished a lot sooner. But at the same time, my school has some students who had previously been at ATP and most have horror stories
I have ultimately decided against ATP as well. I found a local flying club to build time and a local flight school with an expanding 141 college program for after I get my CFI. The plane is simple, but it's IFR equipped and extremely economical.

In the end, I just could not justify paying ATP so much extra. Especially when I don't see much benefit to the extras (with the hiring situation as it currently stands...airline partnerships don't seem to be worth much). Plus I can keep working full-time and save some money.
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Old 03-27-2019, 01:28 PM
  #22  
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Originally Posted by msmarchin View Post
I have ultimately decided against ATP as well. I found a local flying club to build time and a local flight school with an expanding 141 college program for after I get my CFI. The plane is simple, but it's IFR equipped and extremely economical.

In the end, I just could not justify paying ATP so much extra. Especially when I don't see much benefit to the extras (with the hiring situation as it currently stands...airline partnerships don't seem to be worth much). Plus I can keep working full-time and save some money.
Glad you weren't blinded by the marketing hype. Now it's time to get to work!! I'm not sure if you are zero time or between private and instrument, but if you are just starting, I recommend the Sporty's Learn to Fly course (good on an iPad, also available on computer), the Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (free PDF on FAA website - I purchased a paper copy on Amazon) and the Airplane Flying Handbook (also a free PDF on FAA website, or paper on Amazon) Start chipping away. Good luck!

I also recommend these videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...5Y8lSzlOUCTXp1

I little dry, but informative and free.
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Old 03-27-2019, 01:33 PM
  #23  
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msmarchin, sorry, just read your other posts and saw that you have 90 hours and a PPL. Disregard those PPL training reference suggestions. You probably know where to start with instrument stuff already (Instrument Flying Handbook, Instrument Procedures Handbook, AIM, Sporty's IFR video course is also good)
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Old 04-01-2019, 09:26 AM
  #24  
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Originally Posted by UberPilot View Post
I loved my time at ATP. I was motivated and finished the whole program from zero time in just under 8 months. I went to MMU in New Jersey.

12 months from the day I started I landed a job as a FO for a cargo company.

I was switching careers. 29 when I started. I didn’t want to wait around.
How was ATP vs American Flyers? I've a bit less negative about AF, did u find ATP to be nasty. Every time I'm on youtube, the ATP ad will appear, it's really annoying
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Old 04-01-2019, 09:29 AM
  #25  
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Originally Posted by Excargodog View Post
A regional? No. Piece of cake. Get your ATP mins, avoid DUIs and speeding tickets and their recruiters will be on you like stink on.....

A lower tier major? You can do it but you’ll be at a slight disadvantage to those who have one. Even a two year degree would help though. Although some may prefer you without a four year degree since it rather dramatically decreases the likelihood of losing you to a top tier place that pays better.

A legacy or top tier major? Not impossible, maybe 3-4% of their pilots DON’T have degrees. That may change by the time you get the numbers to be otherwise competitive, but I doubt if it will change much.

You really have to ask yourself if you want to compete for ALL the legacy jobs, or maybe - at best - 10% of them.

It shouldn’t be a hard choice.
so it seems like people with advanced degree will be much easier to get promoted? I hope my over prised biz school would worth it
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