Need some opinions, maybe a reality check...
 

just about to get my multi-engine comm rating. Ive got about 250/50. Im really looking at just sending a resume to PDT for the heck of it. I live in Philly and Harrisburg would be a good base for me if I could get it for financial reasons (mainly living off of mommy and daddy for a few haha) I was just wondering what the chances are of getting a job there and any suggestions some of you might have. I am sure most of you are going to say to get my CFI which is also something I have been thinking about. I have just spent a lot of money at my university and I want to start making some now. I have heard from some people that students are going straight the PDT right after they get their multi. I just think that would be a nice thing to do......

Finish your degree if you haven't already. When, not if, the **** hits the fan again you'll need it to be competitive.

oh well yea, I have already graduated, I am just finishing up my flying. I have always been told before I even went to college to get a degree....

Good deal, just sounded like you were jumping out of school with the comm/multi. At UND we had to get our CFI/CFII to graduate, just a different program. If you think you can handle the training program then go for it. From what I understand though Piedmont does their training a bit different from the rest of the airlines, it's much more accelerated, as if airline training isn't fast enough. Do a search and you'll find a thread around here with details about it. On the other hand if you get your CFI and teach for 6 months to a year you will be in a much better position to go to a more desirable regional. The hiring will still be going on a year from now as long as we don't have another event like 9/11...

I agree.

I disagree. I would think that if you're trying to get on with a "good" regional, then previous airline flying would be best on your reusme. That is certainly true where I am, as of the new hires, CFIs are probably the least well-regarded. Plus I'd say the guys with previous 121 time tend to become the natural leaders of the new hire group.

As soon as you meet the mins I'd recommend applying. You can't get the job if you don't apply, and even if you get an interview but not the job you will have invaluable interview experience.

You say Haha about mooching off your folks, but an old professor at Riddle told a story about a CFI who was working in DAB a while and realized he could save money by moving home and teaching at the local FBO. Just so happened that his home town airport had a GV operator, chief pilot got to know him over hangar talk, and he got hired without even looking.

Moral of the story, if you go out on a limb you may land on your head but you may fall into a pool of success.

sounds like a Joe Clark story to me...

It is infact a Joe Clark story from "Fundamentals of Instruction."

True statement. The conundrum here is that if you work at a crap regional first, you are undercutting the industry, and making it harder for the good regionals to be good. You are building experience for a better job while at the same time chipping away at the foundations of that good job.

If you stay a CFI until you can get hired at a reasonable company, you send a clear message to the mesa's of the world.

If you fly smaller turboprops, you are not undercutting the jet industry.

Another option would be to work for a bad regional for 6 months or so and then bail for a better company...that way you cost them more in training costs than they saved on your bottom-feeder salary. If you stay for a year they probably broke even on you.

PDT isn't necessarily a "bad" regional. In fact their first year pay is better than most. However the lack of upward movement (long upgrade) and bleak future, as well as outdated equipment, means that PDT is having difficulty recruiting.