The jobs are out there; the question has always been though how much time they build and how much they pay. The higher paying low-time jobs will always be met with heaps of competitors.

I would offer the *opinion* that if hordes in the tens of thousands of pilots are battling it out over the handful of jobs posted every month, that means for all intensive purposes not every pilot can or will have a job. It might be more responsible to advise people of that in the early stages of pouring money at flying. There may be a few job openings out there, but the jobs aren't really realistic. The only common way for a newcomer to get turbine time is a regional right now, and it's a bloodbath getting in the door. With the 1,500 hour rule, you really can't be a newcomer and regionals are hiring mostly prior 121 now.

Freight Runners gave me and my friend interview opportunities to SIC with them last December. We both had less than 600hours. Sierra West will do the same thing. Want a multi engine job? Well it's not going to pay anything other than crap but that's how it works with 500hrs. Want to build hours quick? Go teach at one of the foreign puppy mills. Don't want to teach? go do aerial photography for one of the photography companies such as Air Associates of Kansas or Apature Aviation. There's tons of opportunities in Alaska. Only way to find out if youre qualified though is to apply. It's not simple but sometimes it is.

What?!? Hiring mostly prior 121? All the people I know who went to a regional in the last few months did not have any 121 time.

I know a lot of people contending for 121 jobs, and the only ones I know getting them are prior 121.

I'm glad to hear that about your friends. The hiring managers at Skywest and Republic both told me they don't hire that many people without 121 experience. Your friends are doing very well for themselves. My friends in class at republic right now don't have any classmates without 121 time.

If they don't hire without 121 time, then why fight for a restricted ATP... Nevermind

I know a lot of people at RAH and I think only one of them had prior 121 experience but was furloughed in his first year. He didn't have much prior experience. It's not really the kind of place you'd make a lateral move to from most regionals. Everyone else I know there was a CFI with no turbine time.

I guess that this is off topic, but which regional airlines tend to hire prior-121 folks?

SE Alaska is a good option. You can get hired around 800TT if you have a good attitude and are willing to work hard... work hard meaning load/unload your own plane, fuel your own plane, help other pilots fuel, load/unload their planes, work 14 hr duty days and fly 8 with as many as 16 take offs and landings. Most 135 VFR operators up here prefer a 800 hour pilot with a good work ethic over a guy with an ATP who complains about working too hard. The pay in the SE is very fair as well with set daily rates between $160 and $200 irregardless of flight time in case you are weathered out. Also, with the two major companies that fly out of Juneau you will get a "airline crew" id which lets you jumpseat around and have some fun on your days off. My recommendation is to start bugging them first week of February since most of the hiring is seasonal.

Hmmm well I guess its just different views then. Prior 121 guys going to SkyWest is probably the case but the rest of the regionals are not finding anyone like that in there classes in great numbers. They have been lucky to even fill classes at all. Regional jobs are pretty easy to get now days if you have the mins. Right now a lot of regionals are having crew shortages and canceling flights because of it.

This has been the case for the majority of regional classes for sometime now. Now any hiring that happened 2010-early 2012 had lots and lots prior 121 guys in class but that's just not the case at all currently.