There have been several FO's from my "regional" airline that have gone on to UAL and they had zero PIC time.

I on the other hand have 7K+ jet PIC and nearing 12K total time and I can't even get one major airline to even look in my general direction.

Who the hell knows what it takes to get an interview call!

 

First of all if you've been in the industry long enough to have the time you have, you have a network, and its far more impressive than you think. You need to figure that out and capitalize on it.

Secondly, do you have your apps in everywhere? At least everywhere you meet the [unrealisticaly low for most] "company mins", forget the actual competitive mins…real or imagined. You don't know how many times I've heard some "woe as me" pilot "stuck" somewhere complaining about his lot in life and when asked about his apps he doesn't have any because he figures he'll just apply when he thinks he'll be called and HR won't even notice he just applied yesterday. Don't be that guy.

Supplement your network with career fares. Don't get suckered into CPS (cheap pilot syndrome) where you miss out on a potentially career propelling job fair because you wanted to save the admissions fee and maybe a hotel night. You gotta spend money to make money. Do it.

While its true that airline hiring departments generally do understand (quite well actually) the timing and particulars of cyclical regional attrition, and they probably won't look down on you for not upgrading because you didn't have the chance, its still no excuse to camp out in the right seat for years doing nothing else for your career but log RJ FO time.

The potential airline jump in your original post is not something I can't say with certainty what you should do. That will have to be up to you and your gut feelings. But you should apply to all the legacy and LCC's you meet the mins for and get your network permanently spooled up. You can get in touch with Kevin Bacon in 6 contact lists or less just from what's in your cell phone. You know several pilots at each and every single legacy and LCC in the country. There are career fairs constantly. Interview prep and gouge is endless and available immediately.

Consider something extracurricular (charity work, safety committee, etc) that stuff is very rewarding personally as well as makes you stand out in a big way come selection time. At least look into online graduate degree programs. There's a few out there that are fairly affordable and some are actually pretty easy.

Whatever you do, don't just fly the line and let the years roll by and then wonder why you didn't get the call. The industry is starting to really open up. While everyone squeals about not being able to find anyone with ATP mins, you have several times that and are current. Make sure you're ready when they are, and do more to help yourself. You have a network that rivals anyone's. Develop it and use it.

 

Most amazing post ever!!!!!!

 

That was me until this past February, except I was in an E-170.

 

That also (in my opinion) applies to multi-year RJ Captains, who won't make a move "because they have a good schedule", and then wonder why nobody wants them after their sweet gig shuts down.

 

Excellent post