Big Decision
 

My current situation:

1) Offered a class at CHQ
2) In the hiring pool at XJT and PSA, but both of these want at least 1000 total, which would take about 2 months of timebuilding (I do have a gig lined up for this flying if I choose to pursue it).

So do I accept my current 121 offer from RAH or built time for a few months and then go to XJT or PSA? I've heard a lot of people say to take the "first 121 offer you get," but the other two regionals seem to have less drama and fewer QOL nightmares as RAH (that contract website was an eye-opener). PSA, being wholly owned and just renewing their a/c leases, seems like a safe bet.

Thoughts?

There's more that should go into a decision than just the company. Where do you live? How would the commute be to either?

I'm from the Northeast originally, all my family's up there, but I'm currently living in the Midwest close to IND. Easier to live in base, esp on 1st year pay, so I'd be looking into relocating instead of commuting. CHQ has LGA and IND, which would be ok for my current situation, and XJT has EWR and ORD. PSA I'd be looking at CLT, DAY or TYS...not really ideal but hey

which one pays more and gets the most time off at home? that should be the answer.

What they said. QOL is huge in this profession and trust me, being a wholly owned is not a bonus. We (PSA) have drama just like every other regional. Our leases have been in place for a few years and dont start to expire till late 2015ish.

All regional pay is horrible though, right? Don't get me wrong, money is important to me, but I'd rather upgrade quickly to captain and move on to a major than spend over a decade at a regional just to hit halfway-decent earnings. I know that some regionals are branded as "career regionals," with the possibility of hitting 6 figures, but that is not my goal.
As for time off, I completely agree, and QOL is important to me. Stability (relatively speaking), upgrade time, and QOL would be the three things I'm looking for. Probably a lot to ask for in this biz ;) especially at a regional.

Based upon your info, If I was in your situation, I would build the time as quickly as possible and then try to get XJT followed by PSA. But only you can make this decision.

A question you might want to ask yourself - How long are you willing to "time-build" if the two pool offers don't work out?

FWIW

You don't want to sit reserve, especially at RAH, do you?

Go for XJT and then PSA. From what I hear, RAH is a nightmare compared to the other two.