Warrant Officer and Reserves
 

I'm a pilot with a defense contractor and kinda getting bored of the usual. Looking into the Reserves and more specifically the WO program. From what I gather I can expect 2 years of training before I "hit the line" and could return to my full-time job. Any WO who fly airline/corporate? Perspective of drill/potential active duty and working for primary employer? My employer pays a salary differential for time-away at training, so I'm not taking a financial hit. Any reason not to look down this road?

TIA - IAD145

Military reserve obligations are rarely a problem at airlines. You're a widget, they know how many reservists they have and they (should) staff accordingly.

In corporate aviation it will be very dependent on the individual employer, influenced by how many pilots they have on staff. More pilots means more flexibility to absorb absences. It will be similar to a white-collar job, in that compatibility with reserve duty depends heavily on your individual job responsibilities.

I was a WO in the National Guard. As Rickair points out, this is much easier in large companies such as airlines, maybe some larger 91K operations. I never had an issue dropping trips flying 121 if a military obligation interfered.

Thanks for the information. I'll keep working towards it and see if I can get a slot.