The question they will ask is WHY do you not have any college. Assuming you can get that far.

 

I've flown with some pretty awful "seasoned veterans" and some outstanding 1500 hr riddle children. And vice versa. Depends on the person.

 

Agreed. If there's one thing I've learned after a few decades in aviation, it's that you can't judge a book by its cover. We like to stereotype the "1500 hour riddle kids" as spiky-haired, earbud-wearing, backpack-toting, social-media-sharing, smartphone-obsessed, entitled brats. And yes, a few of them certainly do fit the stereotype. But by and large, the low-time, younger guys I've flown with have been consistently sharp and conscientious.

Similarly, I've flown with many super-senior CAs who were great mentors, really knew their craft, and were an absolute joy to fly with. But I've also flown with a few super-senior older guys (both CAs and senior FOs) whom I had to watch like a hawk. The few times where the airplane got close to an undesirable state, were mostly with super senior CAs who wouldn't listen to reason (like the guy who insisted on flying a heavy CRJ-700 at FL390 into mountain wave on a hot summer day, with the speed dialed all the way back to M .68 "so we can make a few bucks." Those of you who have flown that airplane will know just how sketchy of a situation that is.)

Having said all that, it got kinda old at my former shop (regional) to hear the 24-year-old FOs complain "Man I've been here 18 months and no legacies have called me yet." If I had a dollar for every time I heard that...

 

I heard a MEOW on guard in the middle of the Atlantic the other day. Clear indication that 1500 hour pilots are getting assigned 757/767.

 

I apologize in advance but I find it hard to believe that there is any captain on a CRJ that really understands how high altitudes and poor performing airplanes can be a bad combination. My previous experience was on a 145, but I learned a whole helluva lot about how jets and altitude interact with temperature and weight my first few years here.

 

I interviewed this week, group was small though. Less than 10, with a few being Aviate.

 

Agree. My last gig was wide body CA at a cargo carrier. Was always leory of the young RJ-to-intl wide body types but by and large they were quite sharp. Hungry to learn, and were their own harshest critics. Always exceptions to that of course. The people to watch out for were the old hands who have let complacency and over-confidence slip in.

 

That is exciting! I was becoming discouraged because I thought all interviewing had been halted. I have military experience (non-flying), I'll be upgrading at my regional in the next few months, and I literally just finished my Bachelors Degree today. Hopefully I'll be competitive after I get done with upgrade

 

yeah sure la de da...those awful seasoned vets were probably idiots before they were seasoned. Nonetheless "seasoning" 99% of the time is preferred, but people want to cherry pick the one idiot to rationalize low time is good.

 

So back on topic.

I seem well qualified but was turned down after interviewing in February. Junior ULCC captain, nearly 5000 Part 121, BS degree, good flying and employment record, and live 30 minutes from Newark.
The interview objectively went well. What do you think, just keep on doing what I'm doing and try again next year? Because of the slowdown in hiring has it become harder for non-military/Aviate people to get hired?