Two things with the military to civilian route: 1) Ususally, you pay your dues, twice. 2) Senioirity is everything.

Both have mgt issues. Both have QOL of issues (granted, one more severe than the other). Both can have you paired with a pilot in the other seat who out ranks you, but is much younger.

47, did the army ever get around to paying crews the full ACIP? Oh yea, both try and get crews on the cheap.:cool:

Try Harder
 

It is false to think that if you "try harder" that it will make that much of a difference. That logic works in school, sports and maybe with getting girls however when it comes to the major airlines the outcome is almost totally out of your control.

Most of what makes a difference in pilot career advancement comes from the decisions of other people and events that have nothing to do with you or your efforts. Upgrade, furlough and hiring trends are three of the biggest factors. Lets not forget medical issues, FAA actions, previous employers and terrorist attacks. Any of these things can sneak up behind you and snuff your dreams.

Right now someplace in America there is a 23 year old kid who is upgrading in the RJ as a captain. If that isn't you then you are already at a competitive disadvantage. I am not saying that you shouldn't try just that it is false to think that your efforts alone will have the largest effect on the outcome of your career.

Heck in 5 years there might not even be an AAL in existence anymore.

SKyHigh

Thanks, Dad. I still paid for all my flight licenses and have 38k in loans to repay. So, before you go off and say that I was handed everything I have to my credit, trade places with me.

Since you were never in the military, let me shed some light on the college tuition thing for you. First, it isn't like there is an endless pot of money that is available for one to go to school on. We are capped per fiscal on how much we have available. When i left, it was about 4800, about the size of most students grant for a year of college. The schools on base know EXACTLY how much you are getting and adjust their rates accordingly. And, guess what, if you come up short on tuition assistance, YOU have to pay the difference. Some choose a program called Top-Up where they allow soliders to use their Gi bill to cover the difference, but, if there is excess, guess who gets it...that's right THE SCHOOL. It isn't free, it isn't easy.

Further more, the life of a military pilot is anything but Top Gun glamorous. We spend WAY more time away from home, have duties that do not even involve flying that will take up most of our time, and, if you figure the difference in pay, make less per hour than your average second year FO.

Hell, if I decide to, heading to the airlines would be a break from the grind I have been enduring for the past ten years. However, I do understand that I will have to make the difference up somehow. Which is why I am paying OUT OF POCKET for my M.S., so I can teach college on-line while I am either at the hotel or sitting in the crew lounge on reserve.

Thanks for your support of the troops. Put another yellow magnet on your trunk for me.

I am assuming that you are talking about the retention bonus for aviators (?), in that Yes Sir, they did but only if you are in a certain airframe which, right now I think is 64D's and Mh-47's. The rest of us, according to the Army can stay or go...no hair off their sack. However, that is the problem that we are having, retaining the mid-career experienced flyers who teach us young ones everything they can and then some. We are not hurting for new pilots by any means, and I know of at least one airframe (the -60's) that are at about 400% strength right now. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next 8 years when their obligation is up and they have logged neary 1k hours due to overmanning. That is why I chose to drive the Hooker....less people.

I like you Skyhigh, but I'm not swayed either way by the above. I believe that if you want something bad enough, you work earnestly to get it and most of all you believe you will get it, things will fall into place. There's no indication that AAL is going out of business so I'm confident that things will be just fine. :)

not comparing the skill sets, just stating the similarities in training. Although pilots and doctors are different, its the same kind of system in that a large investment is required upfront, followed by a period of paying your dues in order to get the "dream job."

This is a great comparison, Kilo! Doctors/NP's and Pilots share very similar hardships in the profession.

I watched my mom sacrifice years of her life to get where she is as an FNP; working all nighters, in the ER, volunteering, medical politics, research, kissing ass, laid off, dealing with lunatics and not to mention the expenses of getting there. Same goes for my pops with the airlines; years of sacrifice, expenses, paycuts, union crap and getting pushed into the dirt only to get up and have it happen all over again. Doctors/NP's and Pilots make a decent financial living but at a great sacrifice. The nature of the professions is completely opposite but both must go through years of hardship to get to the "dream job."

Exactly! Hard work still pays off, and although I am not in the airline biz yet, I have at least 10 friends flying for various regionals. All of them love their jobs, and I think it is important to remember that all of the griping that goes on around here shouldn't trump the fact that flying airplanes is still a great job, if you are willing to work for it!

It is a great job! I couldn't fathom doing anything else....Well, maybe being a sailboat captain in the caribbean. :D But it is worth fighting for and it's up to the next generation of pilots to make decisions and take actions that are good for all pilots and the industry as a whole.

Not trying to sound rude in the least but I can't imagine why someone would get in at an older age. Getting in at a younger one is barely reasonable. I've met a few older guys and most already had good savings and what not. They left higher paying jobs because they wanted to fly. At least they had a cushion to sit on while getting peanuts from the regional.