You have now been nominated for tool of the day.

 

He's been told "no" by 3 regionals now. He's thinking he will get a call from a major when he hits his 1000 hours TPIC.
If verbalizing that makes me a tool of the day, so be it.

 

This is an extremely bitter subject where emotions run high. Nothing is a guarantee in life, even tomorrow. There are those that won the lottery, and those that haven't. Luck has more to do it than you realize. Maybe you were lucky and won the Ovarian lottery, and was born a beautiful person? Maybe you didn't wind up with a guy who is nicknamed "Pink slip Pinkston" while getting your CFI's, maybe you made a move when no one else was for a diamond in the rough? You can only put your best foot forward and hope for some luck.

 

To be fair, Republic and Edv are telling everybody no. Word is Republic is filled through mid-2020 from their backlog, LIFT, and Cadet programs.

 

Well, to be honest, I had no idea how any of this would pan out.

When I made the decision a month ago to give flying another go after encouragement from a few friends in aviation who told me I would get hired , I was skeptical. I started reading up on the "pilot shortage" and figured, "What the hell, I'll put out some apps and see if I get any responses". Well, to my surprise, I got alot of responses. I went from not knowing if I could get hired as an FO, to getting many responses for an FO candidate, then 3 different regionals calling me about being a DEC, to realizing I probably couldn't cut it as a DEC, then to just getting on as an FO and upgrading when I feel competent.

It's been a wild, confusing month. To all of you who've offered advice and constructive criticism, I thank you.

I interviewed with Mesa today and I interview with XJT on Monday. I just hope I have to make a decision between the two, and make the right choice.

Plus, I don't think my previous experience is worthless. I still legally have the flight time. It can't be taken away, I flew it.

And I never said 1000 hrs of TPIC was my ticket to the majors. I've said that's what's missing on my resume. For every person that says I'm too old and out of the game for too long, there's another saying the opposite. All I can do is try my best and let's the chips fall where they may.

 

So it wasn't just me? Thanks, I was feeling like the ugliest girl at the dance party.

 

Hey man, I've been following your journey so I can only imagine it's been a rollercoaster.
But please, PLEASE, don't enter this new career by thinking you need your 1000 hours, and you'll automatically get hired by a legacy.
That's what you've been suggesting lately, and I think everybody here is saying that's not how it goes.

Get your currency, get a year or so of recent experience, and start applying. But remember - you have a huge disadvantage when applying, because you're so low in experience compared to others in your sociodemographic group. To reach any sort of quality of life. I would look into corporate gigs, while obviously applying at all the big dogs.

 

Dude, where are you getting this from?

I got "TBNT" emails from Republic and Endeavor like everyone else apparently.

I interviewed with G7 for a Near-DEC position and when they told me I would be required to upgrade in 3 months, I told them I couldn't promise them that. Should I have lied to them?

As far as the majors, I've said numerous times here that my most realistic chance is getting on with a LCC/ULCC after a couple years at a regional.

You've been very fair to me and given me some solid advice on here, and I appreciate it, but you've misunderstood my expectations. For me to make it to a major at my age after the long layoff would be a minor miracle. But I'm going to try anyway.

Hell, at this point in my life and the way my flying career and oil & gas career (laid off twice) has gone, being a lifer at a regional is an upgrade.

Cheers dera, no offense taken.

 

Agreed. There might be a few odd cases where someone is a sim instructor, and making $200k at a regional. Even then, UPS or FedEx will have you close to that or more by 2nd year pay. But if you’re just a line captain, saying you can’t take the paycut is absurd.

 

Have you thought about one of the AA wholly owned regionals? At least if for some reason you didn’t get a call from a legacy you’ll either flow (maybe if you have enough time on your side) or retire at least with AA travel bennies.

Just another thing to think about.