Life at a Fortune 100 Company

[AbOvo]

Does anyone have real insight to life at a Fortune 100 company? There are going to be differences at any job, schedule, pay, etc.. It seems that a lot of people on this sight comment about F100 jobs as if they are the brass ring of corporate aviation.

Other than job security (which we all value according to Samir Nagheenanajar ) what are the advantages or virtues of a F100 career?

I also see that AvCrew.com states some pilots receive bonuses like any other company. How does this bonus structure work? I swear I'm not trying to sound like Office Space!

 

[AbOvo]

Here is an interesting article that I'm sure HR departments read....

http://www.vanallen.com/pdf/03_BJT_04.pdf

 

[sydeseet]

This is a very very very broad question. Keep in mind that the F100 includes Berkshire Hathaway (obviously they use NetJets), Wal-Mart (mostly Lear's) Bank of America (very structured flight department to the 'nth degree with Falcon 2000's & GV's) and Dell Computer (FlexJet). What life is like at these and the remaining 96 F100 co.'s have little do to with their size and more to do with the flight department & corporation themselves. The desirability of a job depends 99% on the departmental leadership, the staffing levels, culture, culture, culture, and the pay/benefits/retirement equation. I know someone who left a F100 job and eventually landed a F400 job and is 100X happier. Maybe he'll comment.

 

[Fly91]

Some are good, some are average, some are not such desirable jobs for a pilot. So many variables. Just because they have a lot of money doesn't mean they're any good.

<B>Fortune 100 Companies

1. Wal-Mart Stores $219,812.0 (revenue in millions)
2. Exxon Mobil $191,581.0
3. General Motors $177,260.0
4. Ford Motor $162,412.0
5. Enron $138,718.0
6. General Electric $125,913.0
7. Citigroup $112,022.0
8. ChevronTexaco $99,699.0
9. Intl. Business Machines $85,866.0
10. Philip Morris $72,944.0
11. Verizon Communications $67,190.0
12. American Intl. Group $62,402.0
13. American Electric Power $61,257.0
14. Duke Energy $59,503.0
15. AT&T $59,142.0
16. Boeing $58,198.0
17. El Paso $57,475.0
18. Home Depot $53,553.0
19. Bank of America Corp. $52,641.0
20. Fannie Mae $50,803.0
21. J.P. Morgan Chase $50,429.0
22. Kroger $50,098.0
23. Cardinal Health $47,947.6
24. Merck $47,715.7
25. State Farm Insurance $46,705.2
26. CenterPoint Energy $46,225.8
27. SBC Communications $45,908.0
28. Hewlett-Packard $45,226.0
29. Morgan Stanley $43,727.0
30. Dynegy $42,242.0
31. McKesson $42,010.0
32. Sears Roebuck $41,078.0
33. Aquila $40,376.8
34. Target $39,888.0
35. Procter & Gamble $39,244.0
36. Merrill Lynch $38,793.0
37. AOL Time Warner $38,234.0
38. Albertson's $37,931.0
39. Berkshire Hathaway $37,668.0
40. Kmart $36,910.0
41. Freddie Mac $35,523.0
42. WorldCom $35,179.0
43. Marathon Oil $35,041.0
44. Costco Wholesale $34,797.0
45. Safeway $34,301.0
46. Compaq Computer $33,554.0
47. Johnson & Johnson $33,004.0
48. Conoco $32,795.0
49. Pfizer $32,259.0
50. J.C. Penney $32,004.0
51. MetLife $31,928.0
52. Mirant $31,502.0
53. Dell Computer $31,168.0
54. Goldman Sachs Group $31,138.0
55. United Parcel Service $30,646.0
56. Motorola $30,004.0
57. Allstate $28,865.0
58. TXU $27,927.0
59. United Technologies $27,897.0
60. Dow Chemical $27,805.0
61. ConAgra $27,194.2
62. Prudential Financial $27,177.0
63. PepsiCo $26,935.0
64. Wells Fargo $26,891.0
65. Intel $26,539.0
66. International Paper $26,363.0
67. Delphi $26,088.0
68. Sprint $26,071.0
69. New York Life Insurance $25,678.2
70. DuPont de Nemours (E.I.) $25,370.0
71. Georgia-Pacific $25,309.0
72. Microsoft $25,296.0
73. Walt Disney $25,269.0
74. Aetna $25,190.8
75. Ingram Micro $25,186.9
76. Lucent Technologies $25,132.0
77. Lockheed Martin $24,793.0
78. Walgreen $24,623.0
79. Bank One Corp. $24,527.0
80. TIAA-CREF $24,230.6
81. ConocoPhillips $24,189.0
82. BellSouth $24,130.0
83. Honeywell Intl. $23,652.0
84. UnitedHealth Group $23,454.0
85. Viacom $23,222.8
86. Supervalu $23,194.3
87. PG&E Corp . $22,959.0
88. Alcoa $22,859.0
89. American Express $22,582.0
90. Wachovia Corp. $22,396.0
91. Lehman Brothers Hldgs. $22,392.0
92. Cisco Systems $22,293.0
93. CVS $22,241.4
94. Lowe's $22,111.1
95. Sysco $21,784.5
96. Bristol-Myers Squibb $21,717.0
97. Electronic Data Systems $21,543.0
98. Caterpillar $20,450.0
99. Coca-Cola $20,092.0
100. Archer Daniels Midland $20,051.4
​

</B>

 

[willNOTfly4free]

#96 just closed their flight department and are selling all 4 aircraft.

How current is this list?

 

[semperfido]

#96 just closed their flight department and are selling all 4 aircraft.

How current is this list?

Actually, they will not close their doors until the end of the year.

 

[Jetdriver69]

I won't say who I fly for, but it is in the Top 50. I can't imagine a better place to work. New equipment, with more on the way. Good pay with outstanding benefits (bonus, real retirement, med, dental, insurance, moving, etc, etc). Very liberal standards on hotels, rstaurant spending. No requirement to show up everyday with your thumb inserted. You can work from home, if you have an outside job. Senior company leadership gives super support to the aviation department and the Av Manager & Chief Pilot are really good guys who look out for the line guys. Our current group of pilots and technicains are great to work with and I know of zero personal conflicts within the department. We have zero turnover and some guys have been with the company 35 years. I have to say I wouldn't have been hired if I didn't fill a very exact set of requirements to fill a side job, so you really have to know someone to get hired at this place. The only down side is some of our destinations, not exactly Club Med. But on the plus side, they sell beer just about everywhere we go. As long as we don't get gobbled up in a buy out, I see myself staying here until I can retire a second time. I count myself very lucky after flying cut rate Part 91 after my military career.

 

[Fly91]

How current is this list?

Don't know, it was at the top on Google.

http://www.wageproject.org/content/fortune/index.php

 

[sleepy]

I work in the top 20. I know people below us who have it much better. The ranking in this list is meaningless for ranking the quality of the job.

 

[billy2331]

I don't think the list is current at all, it has Enron at #5. Regardless it really has nothing to do with the question asked.

 

[Cat3C]

I won't say who I fly for, but it is in the Top 50. I can't imagine a better place to work. New equipment, with more on the way. Good pay with outstanding benefits (bonus, real retirement, med, dental, insurance, moving, etc, etc). Very liberal standards on hotels, rstaurant spending. No requirement to show up everyday with your thumb inserted. You can work from home, if you have an outside job. Senior company leadership gives super support to the aviation department and the Av Manager & Chief Pilot are really good guys who look out for the line guys. Our current group of pilots and technicains are great to work with and I know of zero personal conflicts within the department. We have zero turnover and some guys have been with the company 35 years. I have to say I wouldn't have been hired if I didn't fill a very exact set of requirements to fill a side job, so you really have to know someone to get hired at this place. The only down side is some of our destinations, not exactly Club Med. But on the plus side, they sell beer just about everywhere we go. As long as we don't get gobbled up in a buy out, I see myself staying here until I can retire a second time. I count myself very lucky after flying cut rate Part 91 after my military career.

I fly for a Fortune 100 and echo the same comments that Jetdriver mentions. I also know of some privately held companies that do pretty well for themselves. It probably is all over the board in the end. I guess you just have to find that flight department that fits your needs and wants and keep your fingers crossed.

 

[AbOvo]

Thank you guys for the intelligent responses. Other areas of aviation are fairly easy to evaluate based on readily available information. Ultimately it's about the right fit with any position, especially when talking about a corporate career.

 

[hmmm]

Those that have found a decent corporate position. How did you fid it?
Does being an A&P I.A. with jet experience help if you have all the turbine time you need?

.

 

[CapnVegetto]

Finding a F100 job is 150% about knowing somebody. Most of the time once you have the quals, it doesn't much matter because there's about 300 other guys they have resumes for that have the same quals. The only way to stand out is internal recommendations. Getting a job in aviation today is almost completely dependent on internal recommendations.

 

[Fly91]

Finding a F100 job is 150% about knowing somebody. Most of the time once you have the quals, it doesn't much matter because there's about 300 other guys they have resumes for that have the same quals. The only way to stand out is internal recommendations. Getting a job in aviation today is almost completely dependent on internal recommendations.

Thats right. I've been waiting, not trying, to get on with my new company for about 1 year. I say waiting because nobody has left the flight department in 8 years. They got a new jet and I slid in, my friend who has been there for 8 years was just waiting with my resume on the top of the pile. And the plane they bought had a crew with the old owner, but they do not care, they only hire by recommendation from current pilots. One of them was a fat slob though, who canceled flights for a broken clock, so.....
After I interviewed, which was just a couple weeks ago, they asked me to bring on another captain to fly with me, so I brought a friend on (lucky bastard).