Sorry,
You asked, its your problem if you don't like the answers. I spend plenty of time sitting next to guys like many of the above posters. I listen to their stories, good and bad, I am not exaggerating when I describe the perils of reserve. Plenty of guys can corroborate the facts. Like me or not, doesn't matter. The reality is you sound like a very devoted family man, this job is extremely difficult for families to understand, the fact that you are asking these types of questions means that you don't fully comprehend what you are getting into.
Stretch your imagination a bit. You are junior, your bidding in the bottom 25%, put all your kids birthdays on the calendar, wife too and all your close family as well. See how many fall on weekends, you probably will be on reserve, many reserve lines are over weekends, and even if you aren't on reserve you are junior and probably flying over the weekends anyway. Some domiciles have movement, some up some down, can you predict which you will be in? How fast can you move your home? You can only transfer when they process them. I am sorry you don't like the answers, but a 25 year career allowed me to see many corners of the business. I have been at multiple airlines and consider myself a Journeyman in the business. I am the guy who comes to work, does my job the best I can, and haven't been in the CPs office, except to stop by and say hello. Bottom line, I don't bend metal, or get in trouble with the FAA, don't hassel F/As and have never scratched a plane in 25 years, in other words, I make them money and they don't have to do anything extra, that's why I am still there, unmolested.

 

100% spot on. If your major concern is that you will have to spend time away from home (and that is a legitimate concern for some), then perhaps this is not the industry for you. Personally I a former military guy, so the time spent in a cushy hotel a few days out of the month is not the worst thing I've ever done (remember I live near my domicile). I have no kids and an awesome wife, who on occasion can come hang out with me.
Have you checked out any Part 135 gigs? Some of those enable you to be home most days. I don't necessarily know that anyone of us offering our "sage" like advice can give you the answer you're looking for. Chances are your first year WILL be spent on reserve. You WILL be gone or on-call on weekends & holidays. If you do not live in a domicile, you WILL have to commute to reserve (miserable existence). If these are things that you and your spouse cannot abide, I would recommend a different route.

 

I totally agree. You should look into some of the 135 freight companies. The company I work for flies only at night but I'm "home" every day, the first year FO pay is better than any regional and I've already upgraded after only 5 months. Look into REPUTABLE freight companies near you but DON'T sign a training contract. Best of luck!

 

Interesting,
Lots of preaching kinda sounds like a mini-genilee

 

APC says 2nd year FO pay on the e175 is $40 and hour? Is this correct?

 

The fact that I've tried to help people with their applications by explaining what I've also done is preaching? Strange, I always thought it was called "paying it forward". I bet you'd have a hard time finding too many posts of mine on here (or anywhere else) that were negative compared to posts where I've tried to provide help and/or encouragement.

The fact that you derive pleasure by trying to crap all over your employer and co-workers is very telling. It's a sign of a VERY unhappy person. Seriously man, from what I understand we have a pretty decent EAP program, and I hope that you use it before really going off the deep end.

 

I guess telling the truth about personal experiences and observations is "crapping" exactly how? My coworkers as well? Do I not like the SS department, there is no secret there, they are operating the same way as they did 30 years ago, and the disregard they had/have for me as a person wasn't imagined. While there plenty of good intentioned individuals in every department, there are also a few less well intentioned. What you see as negative, I see as posting real experiences without coloring or glossing over. Wonderful you have found a positive change from being a cubicle dweller, while your 4 years have been pleasant, that's great, every domicile is different, having been domiciled in more than a few of them over the last 15 years, I have also seen some of the more "interesting" practices. Your time in the barrel is one keystroke away from reality. I have seen the ups and downs here, and make no mistake, yesterday or even today is no guarantee for a month away. Want an easily seen evidence? Go to the bid list and check the freezes for certain EMB Captains for transition, 'nuff said. As far as the EAP, not needed for this pilot, while you may not see it, I am consistent, and have even had a few psych evals for different positions over the years. Your 4 years experience does not make you an expert on the entire company, there was a lot of stuff, I didn't even know had happened until I had a decade at the company and talked to senior guys who had experienced it. Ask around about the DD case, or even read it online, its out there.

 

So why'd we land at DPA tonight on the AVL-ORD flight?

 

For those asking about time on reserve for newbies, 6/2 class here, ORD based. I thought I'd have at least a partial line next month, but no luck, although others in my class that are more senior had partial lines for this month. November will be my 3rd month of reserve.

As far as life on reserve, the past few weeks I've had great 4 days trips. This week I've been sitting in my crashpad for 3 days without a phone call yet.

I know a few guys from my class managed to get DEN and COS after being in ORD for only a month. I know one of them even got a line right away in COS.


Also want to add for Flylowflyfast....if you're already worried about missing your wife's cooking and not seeing your kids, you're going to be in a world of hurt coming to an airline, or any gig that requires spending so much time away from home. I've flown with a lot of guys in my career, but the ones that stand out are the ones who sit in cruise, watching videos or looking at pictures of their kids over and over again. They're always counting down the minutes until it's time to go home, or always talking about how much they miss the kids. It sucks flying with them because they suck the life right out of you, and are miserable the entire trip. Flying for them is 110% a job, with no shred of enjoyment anymore. Don't be one of those people.

 

Any recommendations on REPUTABLE freight companies in the DEN or COS area?