I never said I wasn't happy flying. I wasn't happy making crap FO wages in an environment that had zero mobility. From your comment it doesn't seem like you've flown in the regional world. It's night and day between left seat and right seat. The pay goes up by 70 percent. U get to manage the cockpit however you want. No dealing with 30 year crusty captains complain for 4 days about politics and complaining how they didn't get hired at mainline because of this or that. 4 day trips with a good crew doesn't seem like work when you're constantly laughing and enjoying the flying. But 4 days can feel like an eternity when u run into the crusty captain.

"Just be happy with what you have" thanks Dr. Phil that's some great advice.

Not everyone on this forum has worked in an office environment. Forums like this is a great place to get information from people who have different experiences from yourself. Just because you know what it's like to work in an office environment doesn't mean everyone else does. I was just providing an update to my post so other people might be able to get some helpful information.

Unlike people giving alternatives like being a firefighter, under water welder in the Middle East, and making adult type movies Your post has literally done nothing to advance the conversation or make anyone laugh.

I can relate to the OP. I was a full time CFI/CFII until weather and other COVID factors set in keeping me on the ground. I was fortunate enough to fall back on my degree and land a job that pays very well. I'd much rather be in the aviation world, but it is nice to get a paycheck. My company allows us to work from home so I only go to the office 3-4 days a week depending on what I have going on. So I have the flexibility to take my kids to school, leave work early to meet up with a buddy, or take my wife to lunch. Being a full time CFI, as many can attest to, you don't have much of a life.

The downside, if I'm not flying, I'm not getting any closer to ATP minimums. I'm just crossing 1300 hours, so I'm hopeful I can get to ATP mins by the fall. I can't see regionals hiring the 1500hr pilot for a couple years, but none-the-less, gotta keep working towards the goal.

I think we are all waiting to see who they want to hire. It might be furloughed guys with competitive experience or it might be cadets they promised class dates to. They might not want the guys that are just a phone call away from having a better carrier pick them up that they are qualified for.

It brings up the question "is it worth more to invest in this career to try to be one of the first ones hired?" Unfortunately with no guarantees of actually getting hired quickly my answer is no. So I am with you sitting at close to minimums just waiting to see how this plays out

Who is going to hire has yet to be determined as well. As the 50 seaters are eventually phased out, those companies operating only 50 seaters may also be phased out just like TSA and XJT. This is a volatile industry and there could be more casualties before we fully recover. My guess is that the market is flooded with experienced pilots and just meeting the minimums won’t mean that much for a while. Eventually it will, until the next big event happens and the cycle starts all over again.

You said in the update that you can’t wait to get back to flying now that you have seen the office job. My point is you’re going back to the right seat, what you didn’t want before the office job. That’s why I said be happy with what you have.

I would argue that sitting right seat is less stressful since you don’t sign for the aircraft and the passengers. But I guess that’s why you don’t make the big bucks either!

It can be very stressful, but I rather have that responsibility and be able to set the tempo and tone of the operation vs dealing with a grump cat of a Captain sitting in the right seat. Much more difficult to set a tone in that situation.

Definitely less stressful being in charge of your own cockpit once you settle in to the role.

I think we’ll have to agree to disagree here. It’s much more stressful dealing with the random bs that a captains do than controlling the flight deck. At least that’s my opinion. Moving from an aircraft commander to a right seat in a RJ has been interesting. My favorite was the “soft field” technique for a runway because the captain didn’t like the surface. Pretty sure the numbers don’t account for that. . . Same captain busted out a hoagie during taxi with feds sitting in the jumpseat.

Fair enough. In my opinion going left seat Is just for the money. It depends on the personality too, some FOs would rather take the first upgrade at the worst base on reserve because they can’t handle not being in control. I’ve always got along with everyone. The guy on the left seat might be strange but they do have more experience than you on that plane. If he takes out a hoagie in front of the FAA, more power to him . This mentality makes for a much smoother and less stressful 4 day.