I think “right behind” is overstating it a bit. Merely pointing out that both pax and cargo ops have a “boogeyman” that may or may not affect your risk assessment for a career.

Both are gold tickets. I think FedEx probably wins in overall compensation, but if OP plans to remain in DEN for a career, UA offers many more QoL options.

See my post from 3 years ago both on here and FedEx forum.

Don’t regret leaving FedEx (NOT ONE SINGLE BIT - even with the covid era). My body, my family life and my overall mental well being are 1,000X better at United!

Sounds like you gave it a go, and perhaps may have interacted with some of our "anomalies" that have either retired or went to the triple. If you had stayed you'd be in the top 35-40% holding all day flying, with double dhd trips since you sound like a commuter. Not for everyone, but it has gotten better since you left.

IDK I have friends at FX who are miserable! Red eyes tough schedules and not the best culture… they would all come to UAL in a heartbeat. Having said that I also have a friend who left UAL for FX during the pandemic, he is not regretting it one bit.. To each it’s own.
I personally prefer flying human beings to their destination but that is just me.
Both great companies, leaving a CJO on the table for a company that will retire 90% of its pilots in 15 years will hurt at some point in time… Good luck.

Notice most of the responses to “why leave FedEx” are usually “ I get first class deadheads and will be a 1k at some point”. NOT THAT THE FLYING I ACTUALLY DO SUCKS AND ITS KILLING MY BODY AND WREAKING MY FAMILY LIFE”. That is all…. You’re welcome!

Alright, I’ll bite. To the OP, no matter which way you choose, I think you’ll have a great career.

1. QOL: impossible to predict which one wins out. Family life changes and evolves throughout ones career. Either the family makes changes to suit the job or the pilot makes changes/sacrifices to suit the family. If you desire a training job then it’s MEM or DEN. I know which city I would rather live in and I know that I would never want to commute to a training job BUT that’s me. At Purple your bases are MEM, IND, LAX, OAK, ANC, HKG, and CGN. HKG and CGN offer something that no other airline offers but you may have zero interest in that. I have friends who layover at home on every trip because of the unique nature of trip purity but those are becoming less frequent as the schedules are optimized to a changing operation at purple. UAL has a similar base structure minus the international options but you do have a few East coast options (EWR/IAD) that Purple doesn’t offer.

2. Commuting: not even close this goes to Purple.

3. Night flying: do not discount this. It isn’t for everyone. Some (more than a few) simply can’t find a way to make it work. That’s okay. No amount of money is worth it if you don’t find a way to adjust. Keep in mind that international is night flying no matter who you work for. Purple international layovers are generally much longer and if you used properly give ample time for recovery and adventure.

4. I’ve never flown with a Captain that asked me to cook their meal.

5. Vacation: I don’t know about UAL but it’s worth asking, How long does it take to hold vacation in the summer and what does that afford you? Maybe vacation in the summer means nothing to you. It did to me.

6. Yes, I love international DH’s. Getting paid to commute is nice. I also take full advantage of my airline status and enjoy using the miles to travel with the family when we want without any stress. It’s a perk but wouldn’t decide where I work.

7. Travel bennies: if you’re flexible they are nice. No doubt.

8. FA’s/Pax: an issue once a year if that. Never made much issue to me. I do like flying in my pajamas and eating or using the head when I want. Wouldn’t use this to decide a career.

9. single pilot: not anytime soon.

10. two great companies. Congratulations, a great problem to have.

I dunno, 3 years here at UAL, vacation over July 4th weekend. 102 hours pay…

There you go. That would be important to me and you answered it. Which fleet and base?

As of today, DCA 320 FO. Tomorrow : Can pretty much be whatever I never thought possible a year ago. CA 320/737 3 different bases. 777/787 either coasts at 77/81% respectively or so FO. Very respectful seniority 75/76 any base east/west coast FO. Can hold senior bases like IAH,ORD,DEN….but not something I’m looking into.

It’s not the night flying that would bother me about working for FX. It is the night hub turns and sitting around. Used them this year and it looked miserable. One pilot from each crew was “laying over at home” (daytime layover) so I guess that worked out for those two but the night sort stuff would kill me. The first leg probably not too bad but the sit and subsequent leg killed me as a jump seater and I couldn’t imagine doing that for more than a few months in my career.
Now, having said the above - I don’t understand our (UAL) guys saying “I can’t do red eyes “ and then talking about all our international widebodies etc. as a positive. When you fly a 777 or 787 (or even the 757/767), long haul, a portion of that will be at night most likely so let’s not get too high and mighty. Yes, we have people to prepare our meals using real China and utensils and good rest areas (FX 777s have even better), but we “fly at night” as well. Like so many have said- a good problem to have in selecting between the two. Very different cultures/flying careers. I’m very happy with the one I made and I hope the OP is as well, no matter the direction taken.