Soxfan1

Use APC to help filter out the good choices from the bad for sure but comments on the Internet should only be a small factor in any decision about anything.

The simple fact remains, there has never been a better time, ever, to be joining this industry.

Irony disclaimer - I am telling you to avoid taking advice from random strangers on the internet, by giving you advice as a stranger, on the internet.

itsmytime

Wow! All that time and money spent on ratings, and a couple of anonymous internet clowns keep you out of the industry?

Homeskool40

Haven’t spent any time or money on ratings yet. RTP candidate looking at coming to the airlines. I have a good job outside the aviation industry with a good QOL which makes the decision much harder when I read how bad the QOL is in the entire regional industry. Sounds like no matter where you go you are used and abused for little pay and your family suffers as well.

NobodyLikesMe

I would tell you without hesitation that you are in your right mind. If you have a nice job with a good QOL and want to enjoy a family life, then what you seek is to have your cake AND eat it too. You can do that in your current predicament, but I can promise you that wherever you go in the 121 world you will lose the ability to have both the cake and the eating. One or more of those will be lost. I’ve seen so many guys over the years have family lives ruined by the airline industry. It happens to a lot of people. There are variables outside of cake and eating like proverbial eating utensils and the surface upon which you eat it. What I’m getting at is this, most of the variables that you can control in your life now will be lost if you surrender them to 121 scheduling regardless of the regional you elect to go to. At this point, you then will ultimately face the constant battles of trying to fly less and make more and spend more time at home. If you have no kids, your SO doesn’t mind being alone for 4-6 days a week, AND you want a change of pace in your life, then I’d say you should reconsider your decision. I don’t have a wife and kids. It is probably the only reason I’ve always felt ok in this job. I’ve never missed important events etc. and don’t really ever have plans.

minimwage4

The only people actually enjoying this industry are the 20 year pilots that bid reserve and never fly or the ones that get like 20 days off a month. In short the ones that fly as little and make a lot. That won't be you for a while. There's many I fly with that don't reccomend the job. It does have nice views though.

Celeste

While I think you are seeing the worst of the industry here on APC, things are rough out here right now. Thankfully the pay is closer to where it should have been years ago. However, we are hitting the tip of iceberg on under-staffing hell. If i could have my current pay and bonuses, and the ability to drop the occasional trip and not worry about junior assignments like 2-3 years ago, QOL would be quite a bit better.

On one hand you could tough out a few rough years and then have an amazing career with a high earning potential. However there's no guarantee on how fast you'll move up to a major, and the first couple years there may not be the best being junior.

NeverHome

Right now junior assignments have been through the roof. Scheduling has been absolutely horrible. And quite frankly, upper management needs to pull their heads out and do something drastic in favor of the pilot group. Otherwise we will continue to go down.

All that said, it’s amazing how the market works. Go back to when the industry was fat on pilots. Sure getting juniored was rare. But overall the airlines sucked hard! Pay was crap, management was worse. This was true at every carrier.

Basically what what I’m saying is we overall have it pretty good right now. For those if us that remember being in a crappy place, right now ain’t terrible.

Of course the market on pilots ain’t fat. So management better play ball with the group.

FlyingKat

Not according to the esteemed Chairman of the company negotiating committee. They have all the time in the world.

But hey, 300% is here. Wonder what is coming next.

brokepilot2

Loss of UA flying due to inability to staff it.

NobodyLikesMe

Mitsubishi Regional Jets