What airline was that ?

United in the 1990-1992 time frame. Guys were quitting Alaska to get the quick UAL upgrade.

I suspected this is what you meant. It's just a matter of gaining enough seniority (or not) prior to timing out at retirement. I appreciate the response. Hope to see you guys out there in a couple of years after I get that mil retirement. - YODA

Stayed in 20+ because they let me keep flying, promoted me, and was having fun. Different environment than now in almost every way. Kept my Rolodex updated then put it all in my cell phone. Whether you are gonna sell Spacely Sprockets to your old bros or sell yourself to them for a rec, you need to network while you are in not while are trying to avoid getting sweet and sour sauce on your dark blue Joseph A Bank suit while talking to a 25 year old HR wannabe.

Airline flying is about lifestyle. Combining retirement with airline pay balances the math. No complaints about missing out on WB captain. Will just have to suck it up.

Pretty much. Or just my previous post, be a normal socially adjusted human being and stay friends with the people you've met along the way.

That was the whole point.

Thank you
 

Thank you all for your responses and your advice. I really don't know if I want to go fly an airliner or if I want to find something else to do with airplanes. In any case I'm sure the advice you've provided will be very helpful.
I'm sure I'll be back with more questions soon.

Ask away! I made the transition from the J-Model to an Airbus two years ago and don't regret it at all. The airline life is pretty laid back. The difference is pretty substantial though, the excitement in the airline life is not what it is in the military. Obviously.

But, I've done that excitement, now flying is a job. And I love going to work.

My schedule is usually 16-18 days off a month, I fly pretty much where and when I want. I'm in the top 1/3 of the base seniority list, so I'm getting one of my first ten picks for flying lines. Every other month I work in the training department, teaching new hires in the Airbus simulator, so that quenches my instruction addiction.

The work is laid back, the quality of life is great and the retirement check offsets the poor first year pay.

Let us know if you have any more questions.

I’d just add consider attending a future Women in Aviation conference (open to dudes as well). It’ll cost some bank to attend but I’d say it’s worth it if you can. I attended this year (after just recently retiring from active duty) with the main goal of getting to meet with a few of the airline recruiters (which I did and that was a good experience in itself).

But what I didn’t expect / know about was all the other events going on. There were all kinds of side lectures/seminars regarding all facets of aviation. For example, I jumped in on corporate aviation lecture. One of the speakers – now a corporate Chief Pilot - was a retired F-16 guy whom spoke about how he came about choosing corporate over the legacies and why that’s worked for him, etc. All of the large carriers also gave hiring briefings which consisted of a small pitch about their airline, current happenings, what to expect as a new hire and most importantly what they look for in candidates and some gouge on the particulars of their hiring process. For me, these briefings were huge and answered a lot of my questions.

There are other aviation conferences / pilot job fairs (such as OBAP) but I haven’t attended these so can’t say if it’s the same. Best of luck!