The only happy FO is a Newly Qualified Pilot.........after about 4 months, they realize what a mistake they made.

 

How bout you try not to get too hung up on an airplane. If you want to live in Cleveland, that's great, pick a company because of that, not because of what airplane you might fly. The longer you are in this business, the more apparent it will become that what and where you fly is not as important as pay and time with the people in your life that matter.

For the record, I fly for XJT, enjoy it and realize how lucky I was to end up here. Having friends in the biz at other companies really gives me an appreciation for the contract and benefits we have here. And I hate CLE.

 

I fly for Horizon. There are things I like and things I dislike.

Likes:
1. Livable first year wages
2. Pay is base on seniority not aircraft type (so you could be a Q200 FO (which you didnt choose or may have) and you get paid the same as a CRJ700 FO
2. Use of technology (GPS appoaches, RNP, CATIII
3. You get to know a lot of the guys/gals you fly with
4. And ummmmmmmmmmm


Dislike
1. Long upgrade (But i knew that before coming here)
2. Long reserve (Something i knew before hand)
3. Everything is a mystery in terms of growth and future plans (only miss cleo got the answers)
4. If you get tired of the scenery up front you get a penalty....if you switch aircraft (Back to first year pay for 2 years)
5. The Hotel in Helena

 

Here is some advice for you.

Go find another career where they start you at a "Respectable Salary" that does not qualify you for food stamps.

 

If you do get hired as an FO........don't wear your uniform when applying for food stamps. We gotta keep the image up!

 

I haven't even read this thread for the most part. But a yob is a yob and I speak very good English..

 

Lol... Loved that episode on Mind of Mancia

 

Shouldnt people be looking at Year 2 salary levels anyways? I have always thought that Year 1 salary includes the cost of training the airline "gives" you. Struggle the first year and break even the second year on a shoestring budget.

In the end its up to the individual pilot's quality of life requirements. I feel lucky for the fact that it doesnt take much ($) for me to be happy, and I have lead a pretty good/successful life so far.

 

The reason that you are getting a lot of flack is because your attitude is totally unrealistic (not your fault) and most of us have seen it 100 times before...and we know how the story ends too

Regional FO will only be great fun for a year tops. After that you will start to realize that flying more than 1-2 legs per day becomes real work (I admit that a 2 leg day with an overnight in a cool town is fun...as long as the show time is after noon the next day). Also you will start to notice that your friends have houses, vacations, SUV's, BMW's, boats, motorcycles, and spending money...while you are still driving that 1988 Civic, living with 6 other FO's in a 3 bedroom apartment near the airport and eating top ramen. You can probably afford a 12 pack of Busch once a week, assuming that you have no student loans to pay.

You may be able to be happy with an aviation career ten years down the road, but until then you will have to pay your dues. And don't forget to add extra time out for the inevitable furlough (2-4 years).

I'm not saying don't do it, but I guarantee that a "love of flying" will probably NOT make up for the hardships you have coming. Many of the folks I fly with would have been better off going to dental school and buying an airplane to fly on weekends.

 

Thats a bunch of BS, in any other Industry, when companies hire people they have to send them to training as well, its called "the cost of doing business", just like 9/11 its an excuse for management to bend us over