If the commute is equal I'd go with the one that paid more and offered me more chance to move up in seniority quickly. Despite what most people in this thread are saying the majority of the guys I personally know with major class dates are turboprop check airmen. There's more movement on the turboprop and they had the chance to put check airmen on their resume quicker which lead to the major interviews. People keep saying jet time is better than turboprop time but from what I've seen personally it doesn't seem to matter.

An airplane is an airplane. I wouldn't worry about what you fly. Go to the company that has the most movement and best pay. Chasing a jet only to sit reserve in the right seat for years won't make a good career.

 

Of course, the dilemma is that these attributes are trending toward mutual exclusivity.

 

I'm on the Dash 8 Q400. Can be an absolute pig to fly but all in all it's good fun. However I'm in a different position because I'm planning on leaving Australia to fly in the US, and if I'm gonna earn peanuts I'd rather get another endorsement.

The dash doesn't have a 3 axis autopilot so whenever you touch those power levers (no autothrottle either) you're adjusting the rudder trim. Annoying but you get used to it. Chase the money!

 

Dash 8 all day... Especially if he can upgrade quickly. Neither airplane is harder than the other to learn or fly.

 

DHC8 is a crap airplane and easy to fly. CRJ is a little bit better and definitely more challenging. I would go for the CRJ.

 

As far as airplanes go, Another vote for the dash. It's actually fun to fly! You will have plenty of time to watch the autopilot on a jet later in your career.

Really, go with whatever will get you paid more and upgraded the fastest.

 

I hope you are joking..I really do.

 

Actually he don't you tool. Well Unless he's making 180,000 per year. Then I'm the tool.

 

You have two kinds of people...one is the miserable pudknocker that flies...a "jet", and the other is called a pilot...He or she flies...a DASH

 

I flew Cheyennes, 1900s and Brasilias, but only because I had to. It was valuable experience and gave me some perspective when transitioning into a jet, but it wasn't necessary.

Flying a prop vs a jet are two very different skill sets with their own challenges. No one is "better" than the other. Asking Dash-8 vs. CRJ is a loaded question. What do you want us to compare?

T-prop systems are a little more complex & more things break, you fly at the worst altitudes for weather, turbulence and icing, you generally fly into smaller airports that lack the modern equipment you find at the likes of ORD and LAX, and your schedules will be more tiresome because you have more legs scheduled per day.

Jets require you to really think ahead at all times, watch out for speed and altitude restrictions, plus you have complicated automation systems to manage, you run into the problems of high-atitude flight (coffin corner to explosive decompression to name 2), jet engines don't respond as quickly as a prop, and swept wings do not like to fly slow and are susceptible to dutch roll.

Don't forget to research the airlines and see if they are companies you'd want to work for (no regionals are "great" to work for, but some are better than others given your career goals)

For a "well-rounded" career where you experience everything, it might be better to start with a turboprop and then move onto a jet, but if you want to progress to a major as quickly as possible, it might be smarter to take the jet job. Of course this is a general guideline and varies for each major. Good luck!