What to do?
 

Okay so I know there are better places to ask for suggestions than here but I was curious to know what this pessimistic group of pilots has to say about a regional job.

I've got a reserve job flying helos down in Houston. I am very near minimums to meet the military R-ATP reqs. I guess I still have SJS because I'm looking at what I might do if I go to an airline. Here is my question...

If you were a pilot with minimums now, which airline would you go to? If you needed to be based in Houston, which airline would you aim for?

I'm almost disgusted with the idea that I would go work for a regional airline but at this point, I'm feeling like I'm willing to take a plunge and see for myself why every single one of you hate it.

I sincerely hate that the whipsaw always works and puts regional pilot groups against one another but the reality is I need a job and I want to avoid being a 10 year F/O. I've pretty much decided that if I don't make CA within about 5 years, I'll likely be going to pursue ExPat work or completely change careers.

All of these airlines suck from what I can tell... the real question is, what should a young guy like me do? I see a lot of envoy pilots hating PSA and it does seem seedy that PSA is proudly proclaiming their quick upgrades on their hiring website but what the hell should I do if I want to work at an airline. It seems that the reality is that working for Compass, PSA, or Mesa is something I should consider. I thought about XJT but it doesn't seem like they're doing too hot lately either with their everlasting divide between Legacy XJT and ASA. Not to mention that they've stopped hiring.

I'll be needing a job around March. I realize a lot can change but any input is appreciated. I'm young, single, and don't want kids.

Your on gaurd

Tl;dr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!1!1!1!!!!

Sweet! We need another one of these threads!

/facepalm

Glad I could provide some entertainment to you guys tonight!

OK, I'll bite. Just for some background, I've been at Piedmont for 8 years. I upgraded last year when I was 28. I never asked people to help me pay for anything or make ends meet. I've always lived in base and that has required me to move several times; once time 3 times in 3 months. My brother just passed his instrument checkride and is thinking of making a career in aviation. This is the same advice I gave him last night at the bar.

If you don't care where you live, the major carriers could care less where you come from. They only care about minimums and if you meet or exceed them. Ask any mainline pilot and they have no clue what is going on in the regional industry.

With that said, go to where you can get your time and move on or go to somewhere where you don't commute. If you don't commute your quality of life increases exponentially. If you live in base there is a chance that while you are on reserve you can go to your son's soccer game or your daughter's dance recital. It's not guaranteed you can attend but it is better than being on reserve 2000 miles away in NYC. Regional carriers are not designed to be a career places. I wish that was different but its the honest to god truth. If you can't live in base, do your time and move on. Others have already set the bar low and your decision to join or not to join specific carriers (i.e. PSA, GoJet, or Mesa) will not hurt them. I do believe while you are at that carrier you should try to make gains for your pilot group and those who come after you (why I think the PDT TA is a POS) but it's not going to change the industry overnight.

In the end do what is best for you. If you can go to a regional that has a base in Houston but has a longer upgrade and worst work rules your personal quality of life will definitely be better than commuting to NYC during a blizzard.... But if you upgrade in 2 years and start building multi turbine 121 PIC you will be out of the regionals in 5 to 7 years and at the airline you want to be at for the rest of your career.

Nothing is guaranteed in this industry but you need to decide what works best for you. When I got hired the upgrade time at PDT was 7 years going to 3 years since they didn't hire many between 2001 and 2004. I sat reserve for Piedmont for 4 years as an FO thanks to raising the retirement age to 65. There are no guarantees. Either decision you make, just be happy with it.

Tl;dr's people. Learn it. Use it. Love it. I lived under power lines as a kid so I'm unable to read more than 4 sentences in any one post.

This is the third post I have seen with you complaining. Plz staahp.

Tl;dr.......

Living in base and working for a good, reputable company is key. Houston? I'd go SkyWest. Best of luck!

Houston... it has to be Colgan all the way then.. oh wait... well at least you'll get some killer seniority out of it.....


Yes I just looked at today's updated seniority list and compared hire dates for some stupid reason....:mad: TYFAYD ALPA.... Now give me back my 2%

How long until one of the mods here claims they are so tired of doing their job while doing their job and locking the thread.

Make sure you tell them how disgusted you are with the idea of working at a regional IF you get an interview. My suggestion is lose your ego, I have flown with many fellow military guys who have far more time than you and don't seem to be disgusted. My .02

He wrote "ALMOST disgusted"

I must not be up on my internet slang. What's TYFAYD?

Well, for Houston you'd be looking at SkyWest or Mesa. SkyWest has better FO pay after year 1, Mesa has a faster upgrade.

Mesa Houston EJET. Get in now, upgrade, get out. End of story.

If you want TL;DR go back to Reddit. This isn't Reddit.

My apologies for coming off arrogant. It must seem as though I think I'm above doing your job (I'm not). The reality for me is that pay here is soul crushing. I've done the very best I can and still can't shake the feeling that maybe I should do something else. I've been lurking on various forums since about 2008 when I started and I try to keep myself grounded and understand that this job won't be all sunshine and roses. The stubborn part of me never gave up the dream after I was $10,000 into a private pilot certificate. I then chose to continue and finish all the way to a commercia/cfi FW license leaving me in the hole for $75,000.

I've already committed this far and I can't help but feel like I should at a bare minimum give the airlines a shot. I realize that there are more lucrative career options but the freedom to travel is what attracts me the most. My family is very spread out all around the country so hopping a jump seat to wherever they are seems awesome. I'm slowly developing a fallback career.

What is this, Flightinfo? Hello mods...?

Am I ruffling some feathers with my post? I just read back through the rules and I don't see anything that would prohibit my posting. I'd love an explanation on some of these posts that are seemingly upset. I'm a reasonable person.

Ya, ok, cowboy.

So edgy! I like you.

I'm happy where I work...http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/Sm...ras/boogie.gif

Peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time!

Hey OP don't expect something reasonable on this forum. Goto Mesa, PSA or Compass, don't miss the boat or you'll be one of us grump pilots that's been on the right seat for over 6 years. Or better yet, become the 15 year regional captains that upgraded in 1.5 year when they were hired and think they deserve to be treated like mainline captains. But what's most amazing is these brand new pilots to the 121 industry that are grumpier than those of us that actually went through hardship, furlough and years of reserve abuse. Glad you've got a level head on your shoulders. We'll see how long that lasts. :)

You sound very reasonable. I say focus most of your effort on developing a backup. Work on that in case you end up hating the airlines or get furloughed.

You already have your ratings and mil flying experience. There isn't much more you can do other than prep for actual interviews. Besides you got one shot at life, why just do one thing. I've always believed we should experience and do many things. Doing one thing, even if you love it is so linear.