Block checked already... I'm actually working towards a graduate degree now. What percentage of guys at regionals would you estimate never get their degrees? Seems like, in a sea full of pilots, it would be among the first discriminators.

It's all parochial crap. Air Force and Navy guys feel threatened by the skill it takes to fly a helicopter, so they like to discriminate in favor of their butt buddies; makes them feel better. I've got 3,500 hours flying the B777 Freighter around the world, and those dudes would be happy to count that time, even though half of it was sound asleep on my back, and the rest mostly looking out the window. They give no credit to the hundreds of hours I spent in helicopters at tree top level under night vision goggles. If you can't hover, you're queer. BTW, this profession sucks. Go find something more stable, like becoming a carnie. Maybe you'll get to work the Tilt-A-Whirl.

Got some anger issues, do you?
I'm not seeing a mass exodus of airline pilots so it can't be that bad. It's not a perfect job but it's a pretty dang good one, IMO. Majority of ex-mil pilots end up in the airline world and stay. That says something.
Some airlines do count chopper time. I know of several rotor heads where I work. Btw the last time I checked, majority of the top sticks during track selection don't choose helicopters. On the other hand, everyone I know who chose/were sent to fly choppers all made it through the program and are/were flying operationally so "hovering" isn't an issue.
To the OP, do what is good for you and your family. I never finished my masters but wish I had. I was a young O-1 at the time and that was my golden opportunity. If you are committed to separating and don't want to climb the management ladder, a MBA is pretty much useless in this line of work.

No kidding!
And all that time I have flying round at tree top level at 500kts+ and I can't even get a look flying a helo at 100+kts!
SO UNFAIR!

Don't fret....I'm sure the helo employers of the world discriminate just as much as the fixed winged employers of the world.

Voski - you've been around this forum long enough to be able to sniff out the good and bad. The MBA will give you options outside of aviation, but besides maybe being able to check another box on the airline centric app for points, I doubt you'll find that hard earned MBA much use in the professional PILOT world.

That's because you don't know how to hover and ya'll are all queers!

How do you know I never flew a Harrier

PS...I didn't nor would I admit it if I did!
(Of course I have to say that!)

Wait don't you guys consider "tree top" level to be 500 ft? I've never seen a jet do 0-25 ft on the radalt at 500kts, but please sign me up. I need that in my life right now The helo employers seem to not count FW time just as much as airlines don't like helo time. Most have told me it has to do with their insurance. Sure.

To the OP:
I was in a similar situation. I have a degree, had some amazing opportunities in the military, had 12 years left until retirement, but couldn't stomach staying in the army anymore. My flying days were pretty much over and it wasn't fun. I got out and fly at Mesa now. I am also trying to get in the ANG/ARNG. I'm hoping to get on with a major at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Some airlines are helo friendly, some are helo haters (southwest, fedex, and UPS are the worst and count helo time as nothing). UAL/DAL kind of count helo time (not specifically excluded like the above), but require 1,000 hours of fw turbine time. JetBlue counts helo time and required 500 fw turbine hours for their minimums. Helo time seems to be "additional experience" after you are otherwise competitive. And competitive mins are a lot higher than published mins. I've talked to several helo guys at majors. Just a little harder path for us than for the jet jocks and other mil fw guys.

As you know, most regionals will hire you with R-ATP mins, and most only require 25 hours of multi time. I have several buddies from my last unit who also just got out and went to regionals (mesa/psa/cpz). Plenty of opportunity in the guard to get a retirement. Get a seniority number as soon as you can, drop mil leave when you get burned out or want to make more money than the regionals, and try to get a major seniority number sooner rather than later.

Oh and my mil helo flying was way more demanding with respect to SA, airmanship (stick/rudder), radio SA with 4 radios going off, prep/debrief, etc., than the 121 flying I've done. This is some of the easiest flying in the world, but the boring/easy CRJ time staring out the window and answering a radio every now and then, and taking off/landing once or twice a day, is more valuable than all my helo flying (100% hand flying) for whatever reason. Oh well, that's life. Knew it going into college. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

[QUOTE]We didn't - 100' was our min alt and 200' for 3D maneuvering.

[QUOTE=USMCFLYR;1956285]Ah. Sounds like fun. At least we could see stuff at 80 kts. 500 kts that low sounds like it'd be a blur!

A Canadian pilot in our unit related that he once had to bail out of an F-104:
"Engine quit, eh?"
"Naw...hit a tree."