maddog3

i don't regret going to colgan, just because i always think you should make the best out of every situation. i have to say. some people told me about colgan, and how i should have gone somewhere else. but i was fed up after many years of instructing, and colgan was the first regional to call me. i had a great experience hand flying a tyrboprop, and i met great guys. however, if you have the possibility to go right away to a top regional, i would do so IMHO, just because seniority is very important, and the sooner you get onboard, the better. hope it can help. good luck!

Baronpilot

Hey, I appreciate the input! I'm sort of in that situation as you were in regards to instructing. Most of us do it as a timebuilder and nothing more. There is a good reason for that as it gets old and sometimes leads to pilots quiting altogether. So, as I get closer to the mins, I am looking at the best chance at getting hired. I can tell you Colgan will be one place where my resume goes, but if a jet job was offered, that would be the likely choice. I'm one of those kids (19) who isn't going to get a fast upgrade, so I will have to make my choice based upon what's best at the time. Once again, thanks for all the advice. That's a reason why I come here is to learn.

LivinTheDream28

hey man I'm right there with ya. I just turned 20 and have been instructing since I was pretty young. Its been a year now and I know thats not long to some guys but I've burnt myself out as instructing goes as I've gotten almost 800 hours in the past 9 months, thats a lot of flying for a CFI. Anyway, I'm ready to move on, but as you said, we can't hope for a quick upgrade anywhere. A jet job would be great, but getting the chance to do some handflying for a while would be a good time too I suspect.

Baronpilot

Man that's a lot of flying. Instructing is a little slow, so I'm still shooting for that 600/100. Hopefully not much longer. It seems there are two types of instructors, those that do it for years and those who do it for a few months. I'm in that latter category and no offense to any new pilots (we were all students once) but I just don't think I could instruct long term. Anyway, good luck in the interview Monday!

tebpilot

Wow, some serious venom being spit on this thread. Just felt like I should chime in. I've been with Colgan for about 7 months and actually enjoy it very much. I took this job because I am older, married and have 2 young kids. To me, the benefit of being home every night far outweighs the occasional inconvieniences. I get to see my wife and kids on a regular basis and I live very close to my base, this makes my quality of life very high. Now, if I were 21 years old without children I would probably go for X-jet or one of the other regionals. At this point however, I'm just not willing to be away from home 15-18 days every month. It's not worth it to me.

I just wanted to respond to a previous posters complaints about Colgan.

"Flying to the same 3 or 4 airports every day sucks". This is somewhat true. After a while though, an airport is just an airport. It has runways, taxiways and a ramp area. Rarely is there anything to get very excited about flying into a new airport. If you are admiring the runway layout or the pretty terminal on approach, you are not paying enough attention to your job. Once you leave the airport, you get a van ride to a hotel, which looks the same as every other hotel you've ever been in. You get the same crappy continental breakfast you always get. The next morning, you catch the van back to the airport and fly to your next exciting destination. Yawn. Besides, you can always pick up xtra time every month. They will fly you to a different base where you can see different airports and stay in exotic hotels.

"Colgan will try to screw you out of your money". Welcome to the real world. I was an independent contractor in my last career and constantly had to chase my money down. You have to look out for yourself in this industry or any industry for that matter. Take a look at all the pay cuts and furloughs in this industry. Management is not on your side!! If you stay on top of your paysheets and call if there is a discrepency, you should not have a problem. If it's not resolved, call again. Be persistant, be respectful and professional, even if you feel they are not.

"Colgan will try to make you fly unsafe planes". Not true.

Colgan is what it is. It's a great place to start. The crews are a great bunch of people. The flying is fun and challenging. The upgrade is fast. In dealing with crew scheduling, payroll, management and your fellow pilots, you will aquire the personal skills that are important in navigating any business environment.

Longarm

tebpilot,

I think that your attitude comes with being a little older and a little wiser. That was some good advice for the younger guys. If I may ask, how old are you? I'm 43 and a possible career-changer and I wonder sometimes after reading all the negative stuff on this board, is the change worth the time, effort and money? I don't look at the world through rose-colored glasses but if guys in this profession at 20-30 years old have so many gripes maybe the drastic lifestyle change isn't worth it. Also, when it is time for you to move on from Colgan, how will you and your family make the adjustment with regards to being home often? This is probably my number one concern. Thanks to all you guys for your comments and insights.

tebpilot

Longarm,

You have to ask yourself, "how important is the money?". The first couple of years at any airline will require you to take a significant pay cut if you already have a good established career doing something else. I had enough money to pay for the training and get myself through the tough years as an FO.

The next question is, "what are your long term goals?". If you intend to make a regional your career, then you should probably not choose Colgan. In the long run, you are better off getting a job at x-jet or one of the other regionals that can make you more money as a captain. If, like me, you plan on moving to a major or fractional, Colgan is a great place to be. Upgrade is pretty fast and within 3-4 years you could start applying to the majors. Colgan has graduated many pilots who move on to Continental, FedEx, etc.

When you move on to a major or a fractional, time away from home is a reality. I have not yet decided what my next move is after Colgan. For one thing, the airline industry changes quickly and there is just no way to predict how things will be 3 or 4 years from now when I'm ready to move on. Fortunately, my Colgan base positions me close to many good major, corporate and fractional bases. I don't anticipate having to move my family again. As far as the 3-4 day trips are concerned, I probably will not enjoy it very much but having 15 days off per month is still better than my previous career. I often was working 6 days per week and had little time to spend with my family. When you figure in the good salary at the majors, coupled with flight benefits and time off, it seems like a pretty good career choice for me.

Talk it over with your wife and make sure she is onboard with your plans. This is the most important thing to make the family thing work. BTW, I am in my mid 30's and it took me about 2 years from the time I decided to change careers to landing my job at Colgan. Hope this helps. Good luck!

JoeyMeatballs

Again this older gentleman who has posted about liking Colgan, I liked it too for the first few months, but believe me you will be treated like a slave. If being home is important to you and you do live near one of their bases, then hey it may be worth the sacrifice, but I want you to also realize that even though most that get on with a major airline have internal recs, if you don't SAAB time is not going to be more desireable than Turbojet, Glass, FMS and experience flying all over. I will also say that at Colgan the most you will ever make is probably 60k, I know it may not be about the money, but lets be serious, if you can make a considerable amount more flying nicer equiptment, traveling to more than a few destinantions (All airports are not the same, different people, climate, scenery etc....) and work for a company that gives per diem, a union and treates you like a human than why not?
Just my opinion I am 25 not married (do have a GF) so my sistuation may be different, just something to think about

KiloAlpha

Speaking of days off, Ithica has something like 16-18 off per month with a block pushing 100 hours.

JoeyMeatballs

kilo my buddy is up in ITH, there is no such line