I'm a CFII who is getting close to regional hiring minimums and am just wondering: Is there any value in showing up to a regional interview with the ATP written already done?

 

It wont hurt, and some of the regionals have it listed as a requirement.

 

might as well do it now as when you get to a 121 carrier it will never expire

plus you will have many other things in your mind once you get to a regionla

 

Yes, it's worth doing. Get it done now and forget about it. Many airlines require it and like the other one said, if you are at a 121 carrier it doesn't expire.

Besides, you might even learn something.

 

can't hurt

 

Do it - it will prepare you for all the perf. charts and calcs - especially the stuff you don't do like EPR calcs - drift down - and will refresh your weight and balance and especially weight shift problems....

While your at it do the FEX test - I think that shows commitment - and you get to do oxygen calcs

 

Plus, there's a very good chance that your interview will consist of a written test that will be taken almost entirely from the ATP.

 

This is really about the only reason that you might consider it. At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter if you've taken it or not, unless it's a requirement for employment.

There are plenty of folks out there that get on at the airlines without ever cracking the ATP study guide. Why? Because you learn a lot of that stuff when you're actually at your first airline gig. Granted, you should have the instrument procedures and regulations for flying down, but most interviewers don't expect you to know 121 stuff unless you've been in that environment. You can study for the interview just as effectively with Gleim books for the Instrument, CFI, and Commercial writtens.

My personal opinion is that most folks looking for their first job at a regional probably don't have a spare $80 to toss away on something that they really don't need. If you do, go for it. It won't hurt, but it isn't necessarily going to help either. (FWIW, I didn't get my ATP written done until two weeks before my ATP ride, which was after 4+ years of flying at an airline.)

If you don't get it, it probably won't hurt you (especially now with some airlines hiring at 250TT/25ME). I wouldn't worry about the FEX at all. It's just a waste of money, and by the time that you ever looked at needing it, it would be expired and you'd have to retake it (Or at the very least, you'll want to retake it... I don't know of any regionals that have Flight Engineers, and the instant that you leave your regional for a carrier that has FE's your results are probably going to expire).

 

Add another vote for "just do it." I wish I had. I was hired by a regional whose written was straight out of the ATP, but I didn't take the ATP written afterward. I've been kicking myself ever since.

 

Yeah, many regionals have a written test at the interview which comes right out of the ATP bank. As long as you're going down that road, may as well finish it.