Shrek

WOW - a MASTERS even !!!!!!!

AV8ER

Just call me Dr. Pilot.

Ftrooppilot

Had 6,000 hrs before I got a degree. Now have a masters.

Son is a high school drop out - now a Capt.

Attitude, quality of training and depth of experience are the key considerations. Having a degree has nothing to do with the ability to fly an airplane.

Superpilot92

I dont think if you dont have a degree you are some how not as good of a pilot. In fact I know thats not true. However if minimum flight time for hiring was higher and a degree was required for employment then more than likely pay would go up. The degree will continue to become less and less important This is just another way for MGMT to "Dumb" down the job. They can justify paying less and less if qualifications aren't important. Just my thoughts. So do you think i have a degree or not? worth 20 points!!!

Ftrooppilot

AT one time the USAF required 20/20 vision to enter pilot training. The second day of training you could almost be "deaf, dumb and blind." The 20/20 vision was a screening process. WHen demand exceeded supply they granted "waivers" and eventually approved surgical correction.

Until recently the airlines used a degree as a screening process for hiring. On day two it didn't matter a bit - you had to pass the sims and other training requirements.

Now that demand exceeds supply, the degree requirement has become "prefered" or not required.

As supply goes down, pay will go up. Look at the "pilot hiring bonus" system that is starting. Compare it to the RN shortage where some hospitals offer a $25,000 sign-on bonus if you sign a three year contract at $40.00 an hour / 40 hr week.

Market demands will determine pay.

ScaryKite

yeah i would not agree with your education statement. I guarantee you there are bush pilots up in Alaska who dropped out of school and have never had any training past private pilot, whos skills and experience level are FAR superior to that of your average pilot.
But i do stand by my point that experience and hours are two Totally different elements. As a CFI you learned that from students, some students could jump in the plane, and nail everything you threw at them in 10 hours. Some guys couldnt even solo up into the hundreds of hours. Thats just natural ability.
There is a huge difference in experience based on what kind of flying you are doing, when i left my first CFI job, i was primarily doing instrument and commercial training, my skills and profeciency were very high, then I changed flight schools and did exclusive primary training, and my IFR skills and scan went down. I had twice as much flight time than i did 6 months ago, but i felt my piloting skills were at a lower level then, than they were 500 hours ago. Then as i started preparing for Regional interviews, i started working really hard on IFR procedures and my skill level went back up. Went through some 121 training and started feeling really good about my proficiency level. Passed my checkride finished IOE and then got on line. Thats when i started using the autopilot and Flight director all the time and skills went back down again.
But during my first few months doing a lot of flying, i felt my experience level rising and I appreciate the fact that with time comes experience and it makes me respect the experience level of those who have more than I. So yeah at the early stages of flight instructing it doesnt matter how many "hours" you have. Its what you have done in those hours.
So i do believe that a 500 hour CFI with some natural ability, and a hard work ethic, can be just as successful as a 1500 hour cfi in a 121 training environment.
But you cant compare a CFI whos been doing repeated slow flight, stalls, steep turns and crashes and dashes in the pattern, To a guy thats been flying a night freight operation, single pilot night IFR is some of the best experience you will get. From what i have learned thus far, any monkey can get in these airplanes move the controls around and push the buttons. Its an experience level that makes or breaks the pilot, what decisions can the pilot make when things are abnormal. And until you have a lot of experience, 1000 hour CFIs are not, in my opinion, qualified. Thats why you usually get put in the right seat for a few years.
A piece of paper, (especially an expensive one) dont make a pilot, its the experience hes had and what hes learned from it, and how he will apply his experience to his decision making when it counts, is what counts. Sorry to get all Tom Skerrit in Top Gun on you, but it is a good statement. Just my 2 cents.

Shrek

Pretty BIG 2 cents..............

ScaryKite

yeat it was more like 37 cents, and a gum rapper. Thats all I can afford on this FO pay!

reevesofskyking

he always has been the big spender
should have seen the hookers he brung around here

JK

Koolaidman

So back to the Trans States post...

130 FO's in St. Louis is normal. They won't hire street captains. Don't believe anything you hear come out of the flight managers' mouths. I like all of them and if I saw them in STL I wouldn't hesitate to say hi. However, for some reason, TSA likes to keep everything a secret. Examples, furloughs, when we bid on the XJT stuff last year, losing flying, gaining flying, hiring, flights cancelled due to pilot shortage, etc.

New FO's will continue to leave, some will stay after one year because they believe upgrade is right around the corner. I flew with a 10 year CA who was called on his day for a junior man assignment. He refused and ended up in the Chief's office. This is typical Trans States and the way they LIKE to run their airline. I guess someone feels this is the most efficient way to run things, just like the furlough into hiring last year. Mesa is the ONLY airline that juniors pilots better than TSA.

The big meeting was probably another scare tactic. It is nice not to have to worry about being furloughed for no reason anymore or worrying about having a job next month. I suggest the same thing everyone is, get out of that ... hole and enjoy the job!