Randolph

Ok, I've used the search function for the forums, but posts from 2005 come up.....I have a few questions for you TSA guys out there...

-Would the commute from ORD to STL be pretty easy? I know commutting sucks, but there are tons of AA and UA flights daily between the two cities

-Is the training at TSA really that difficult? I know the pass rate is low. What's so hard about the training? The sims or the ground school?

-What is the current upgrade?

-Are they taking pilots with less than 500/50?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated...thanks guys

Pilotpip

Commuting from ORD is possible. There are quite a few here that do it. We have hourly flights both ways on the UAL side. AA has a ton of flights too. Commuting to/from ORD can be a nightmare though. A canary farts and there's a two hour delay. TSA has no commuter clause. You may want to think about MDW too.

The training here is very hard. Lots of info, really fast with no additional resources and nobody gives a **** if you get it or not. As far as difficulty, all of it. Especially if you're going from that PA-28 to a jet. There's a little bit of a learning curve and 8 sim sessions are all you have.

Recent upgrades have been here about a year. However there is no growth, and all upgrades have been for attrition. Lots of guys in the SWA pool and going to JetBlue and Continental. However none of them are hiring nearly as many in 08 and you have a ton of guys in the left seat without much PIC. It will not stay that low. We're very fat on captains right now due to expected attrition. However that, and the fact that a bunch of US flying has been cut in RIC make me think that if you're in the lower half of seniority you will be in the right seat for quite a while.

I don't know how low the time is for interviews. We're well staffed right now so they will probably have higher standards.

Do yourself a favor, instruct, gain experience and go somewhere better in a year.

Outlaw2097

pip...im looking at tsa as well.

how long have you been there and why are you down on it?

labbats

I don't know much about Trans States other than what the internet says, but I do know that ORD - STL is not an easy commute. With the influx of old TWA people into Eagle and AA that are forced to commute from STL to ORD it is very hard to get a seat. In fact, it's quite common to have a 2 leg commute from ORD to another stop on AA then connecting to STL on AA connection.

If you live in Chicago, then invest some $ and get on Climbto350.com and check out the weekly jobs posted on there in Chicago or get hired at Eagle, Skywest or someone based in ORD.

Pilotpip

I've been here for a few months. My old job shared office space with them and I dealt with their aircraft a bunch so I have known what's going on in house for about six years.

The flight crews here are great. However management doesn't think about anything but how much money they can save today. No long-term thoughts whatsoever. There are far better companies out there to work for.

Nobody knows how age 65 will work out. What is known is that SWA and others aren't going to hire nearly as many (if any) as they did last year. Because there's no growth there's no movement unless the guys in the left seat are getting hired. I'd much rather be stuck in the right seat somewhere that pays better, and has better bennefits than here which is why I'm leaving.

There are tons of ex-waterskiers on this forum and there's a reason for them making the lateral move. I'd have no problem with staying here but I would much rather be somewhere that has better pay and bennies which is why I'm out.

reevesofskyking

well there are making dvd's for all the new hires showing them everything in the sim.

There is something going on, I just got out of recurrent, and EP came to our class and said bring anyone we know that can pass training, they NEED 40 FO's for the Feb class alone, I dont know how many in march or after.

Asked EP about it, and he said figure it out.

I think the training program is going to be doable now if you have a little bit better than a clue. I cannot say for sure what they are doing now will lower washout rates.

Reeves

Zach

Our class was the first to get these DVD's, and 4 out of 22 washed out. 1 didn't make it past the oral, and the rest were in the sim.

Koolaidman

Not a fun commute. Get your time and go to SkyWest or another airline with a ORD base. Quit working for crappy wages and people who treat other human beings like TSA.

ExperimentalAB

Ditto what Koolaidman said. I am a survivor...Life does get better than TSA.

Killer51883

if you failed out of a previous erj course for another regional and applied to tsa whats the chance of getting an interview for and landing in that feb class