Start Here?
 

Forgive me, I have searched, but can't find any kind of "start here" discussions for guys thinking about converting from mil to civ, hopefully major's, careers. As I read threads throughout, I see acronyms that make a mil careerist blush, but have no idea where to start 'learning' about the QOLs, short/long haul, how to commute, to live in domicile or not, best benefits/retirements...

Many of these are obviously opinions, but I can't believe there isn't a thread covering this type of discussion.

thanks.

Which acronyms don't you understand? QOL is quality of life.

If you mean various parts of job, that's different.

GF

of the few i got, QOL, luckily was one of them. I guess I used that as an example of looking for a 'start here' thread which i couldn't find. I know it's different and depends on the airline, but I imagined there'd be an almost one stop shop of differences between the majors.

As an example, it took me ten minutes to go back and forth to the different individual major profiles to find out where all the domiciles are located.

Of those domiciles, what airframes are at each? More of a gee'whiz question but still something I imagined would have a post.

To help us help you, what branch are you in? What are you flying? How many years have you been a military pilot? What civilian ratings do you have?

In one 3 hour SOF tour, I was able to research/copy/paste a TON of information which clearly answers all of your initial concerns. Literally, I have a binder with about 50 pages of gouge just about this very subject. Suggest you dig a little deeper as the answers are there.

Seek and ye shall find! As others have said, there are more than enough information out there. You just have dig a little deeper. I've always found that the best sources were my buds, aka networking. Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on where you stand), this business has a lot to do with who you know, lots of luck, and timing.
Here are some thoughts/questions:
Where do you want live? Would you mind commuting? If so, how's the commute? Pilot domiciles? Upgrade time (if that matters)? Do you want to fly big iron and fly international? How do you feel about flying a narrow body for the rest of your career? How's the airline's financial spread sheet? The last things to consider are pay rates, 401K/retirement, and work rules since these change from contract to contract.
Most will tell you that you will work for who ever hires you. Sort of a silly statement, I know.:) Only a handful have an opportunity to choose from more than one job offer. If you spend some time reading through these web boards, you'll get a pretty good idea of things. Good luck and happy hunting!

T-6...that's the info I would have imagined that info would be shared on here, unless it's explicit to you. I get that I can do the work and I will, but I'll probably start a 'start here' thread to address some questions for the noobs like me. I see tons of dudes getting flamed for asking "beginner" questions. Why spend hours of your day researching stuff that could be open to all? Just my take.

Thanks all for the reply's. As for myself. I'm a single seat dude w/slt over 2K in hours virtually all multi-eng turbine PIC, hopefully about 2.5k by the time I separate in two yrs. About 1K of which is IP and a dozen plus EP. Finishing my USAF UPT commitment and the 'frau is convinced we should get out and as time progresses so do I. I'm not opposed to commuting, we're probably going to go to CO where family is.

PM me if you have any questions about OO in CO. (OO is SkyWest's two-letter code. You can look up these codes here: http://www.airlineupdate.com/content...rline_iata.htm. Lots of folks on these boards use them).


Still just a mushroom...

Read the "Avoiding Square Corners" Thread in the Hiring Topic. Not step 1, more like intro to the entire topic. Then...

1. Read the airline profiles on top of the web page.
2. Get ATP and Class 1 Physical Done.
3. Draft your Flying Resume.
4. Start Building Profiles on airlineapps.com and pilotcredentials.com.
5. Call everybody you know who is an airline pilot, wannabe airline pilot, every reserve squadron you know, and start asking questions.

That is a lot. Good luck getting started.

Start here:

http://marketing4storage.com/images/search.jpg

If you're an active mil aviator, you don't have any squadron buddies, current squadronmates, anyone that can fill you in and get you caught up? :confused: