By then, it is too late.

You have to look at your career proactively and make adjustments along the way. I was a RJ Captain looking at a six figure income and weekends off. I thought I was set for life. Then my airline was acquired but not merged. One of our firm orders is pictured your avitar. First came the threats, then the displacements, as our airplanes were transferred to your non union carrier.
Enjoy my seat for less pay than I was earning. There is more to it than "dumb luck." There are Managers, Unions, and replacement pilots who think they got "lucky" to have your job. Until you have done the drive along I-20 to Atlanta with your belongings in a trailer and a training date for displacement, you do not understand.

I've moved on to another airline which I think will be a good thing. But, I wish things had worked out differently. Before SkyWest bought us I would have recommended a career in aviation to friends and helped a few guys get started. After SkyWest, GoJets and the like, I have told friends to stay away from this profession.

By the time you are 36 if you haven't been a 121 jet captain for most of your career you could be viewed as bile by most airline hiring boards. Just because you might be flying a jet you shouldn't feel like you are building towards a resume that will be worth squat to an airline in the future.

I am not trying to be mean but if you left a 121 carrier for XJT it could spell doom for your airline hopes especially if the regionals start handing out RJ's to kids.

Pilot hiring is fickle. I watched as my resume became worthless due to the proliferation of turboprops. I predict that unless you are in your 20's and an RJ captain then you will be at a huge competitive disadvantage.

SkyHigh

well most of the guys I know going over to CAL and SWA are in their early 30's...............

Spoken like a true Peter Pan.

I often belittle newbie pilots because they love to use false logic and self delusional concepts to give themselves permission to do stupid things. They con their spouses, parents and self so that they can satisfy a selfish childish impulse.

Deeply embedded in a denial bliss they will shirk their husbandry and fatherly obligations in trade for getting to play pilot all day while ignoring the obvious.

They say things like:

You gotta do what you love.

Follow your heart.

And of course,

Just enjoy the road.

Those might be nice things to have printed on motivational calanders but they do little to help fill the bank account. Single people can do whatever they want so long as they do not burden anyone else.

SkyHigh

Sky High,

That is not how it really works. At all the airlines I have applied to (Delta, FedEx, AirTran & ASA) the process was roughly the same. The first step was exceeding the minimum qualifications. The second was rounding up your contacts and finding the right person to push your paperwork forward to the right manager. The third was preparation and practice for the interview that made your competence and willingness to serve stand out.

Age is much less of an issue that it once was. Airlines understand that young pilots will someday be senior captains earning maximum longevity pay for a long time. At ASA, we were told that management actually wanted pilots to leave after about 5 years so they could avoid paying the big money at the upper end of our longevity. There are a handful $140,000 a year RJ pilots walking around who still have 25 years left.

You are correct to point out the risks of betting on a future job to these guys. They could get "lucky" like the Delta, NorthWest, United, American, MidWay and TWA guys got lucky at the end of the last cycle. A furlough is a heck of a way to flush 7 years.

I think many pilots are staying out of the business because they look around and see that half of the flying is being done by contract carriers with little job security. Flying is such an investment that it is difficult to rationalize the sacrifice necessary to get the brass ring.

Bucking Bar

Sure they are in their 30's however it seems obvious that it would be best by far to be a 30 something part 121 RJ captain then a part 135 jet guy. Don't ya think?

The cream of the pilot pool is and will continue to be RJ captains and military superstars. Both prove that they can take huge amounts of abuse and are willing and able to be a cog in the machine. A 121 jet captain has already proved that they can handle all the aspects of a 121 career. All that a learjet type can prove is that you can fly an ILS at 147 knots.

A big obstacle you will face in an interview will be "why did you leave an airline to fly for XJT'? Unless of course you are from Independence and can claim that you were laid off.

I am not trying to be mean here. My career was made irrelevant due to market changes that I didn't foresee. My aim is merely to get you to consider these things.

Skyhigh

Theres some confusion here, XJT is Expressjet Airlines, D.B.A as Continental Express, and Delta Connection, so I will be a "30 something RJ Capatain" from a 121 airline

My point is that in the cometitiveness of the hiring pool if all things are equil a guy who has 121 jet PIC will previal over most else in the civilian world. Though there isn't a hiring proference towards younger pilots it sure looks better to be a 28 year old RJ captain than a 48 year old one.

Everyone knows that the younger guy will complain less and will be able to flirt with the HR girls. Besides all that what grown up would want to start over at middle age at a legacy airline that most likely will furlough them a few years later anyway?

I believe that in the near future these wonder kids will be upgrading in part 121 jets and most everything else will be deemed worthless. Minimums at the majors will move towards 2000 part 121 Jet PIC.

I watched as single pilot IFR MEL piston time became worthless. Soon MEL turbine will be disregarded as well.

SkyHigh

Thanks for clearing that up. I thought that XJT was Executive Jet.

Sorry,

SkyHigh

ok so ill be in my twenties and an RJ Captain, I am getting involved with the union, and participate in a lot of local volunteer stuff in my community and I have a lot of friends at major 121 airlines...................so I think Im actually doing ok