Airline Pilot Central Forums - My theory on the regional roll of the dice

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Yup... back in 2004 I could have gone to Mesa (one friend is a captain at Netjets, the other an FO at Continental) I could have gone to Chatauqua (2 are now at Delta one is a lineholding 170 captain there) I could have gone to Comair, (all are either furloughed or will be by January) Or Mesaba where I have been laid off once and will be likely downgraded to FO by February, and possibly even again getting to know MARVIN (unemployed) by the end of 2011. Heck even just looking at taking recall here in 2007, everyone went different directions... Many since wished they came back here, now saying well maybe not so much....

Re: roll of the dice...

Quote:

Originally Posted by YXnot (Post 686525)

nice try its Gault:)

You're both wrong. It's Galt.:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by YXnot (Post 686525)

nice try its Gault:)

Actually, it's Galt.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesabah

The best software reliability is around 99%, so a completely automated plane would error about 1% of the time. Which is several million dead passengers a year. Automation......not going to happen in our lifetimes. Remote controlled maybe, but that is far more expensive to maintain than pilots.

Are you assuming that every error will result in a fatal accident? Certainly not every human pilot error results in such a dismal outcome.....

OK, I'll bite on this one. My advice for the guys who are sitting around waiting for hiring to begin again is this: go to the regional (or Part 91 job, or whatever) that has a culture in which you would be happy if it wound up being the last place you ever go. You cannot assume that you will make a lot of money over your career; you can't assume that you will get an upgrade at a given time; you can't assume that you will hold a line; you can't assume that the job you get will exist in two years. All of these things are largely subject to factors so beyond your control that they do not merit your attention. NOBODY has these answers for you.

What you CAN do is set yourself up to enjoy your time in whatever seat you attain. The odds that you will be a low-paid reservist for years in a hiring freeze are equal nearly everywhere; what seems to vary most from place to place is the overall attitude of the pilots working there toward their job. Find the place(s) that correspond to the culture in which you will be happy, and interview there at the first opportunity. Look for people who are proud of their company, and ask them about why that is. You will narrow the field quickly if you do this.

For what it's worth, I chose XJT in 2006, and although luck (Fate) has undoubtedly had a great deal to do with my high level of job satisfaction, I chose this place because the people working here seemed genuinely satisfied with things as they actually were, not as they were going to be. So far, that choice is proving to have been a good one.