United or American?

[parrothead]

Which airline do you think is the best to work for now? Which has the best long term potential?

Thanks!

 

[pilotyip]

First one to offer you a job and you will know at the end of your career if you made the right choice. I would leap at either one.

I look at my highly qualified squadron mates and the moves they made. Like leaving leaving DAL fro Pam Am in 1968,FedEx for Braniff I in 1978, it folded in 1982. We had another guy bail from GM Corp in 1979 for Braniff; he would have been at GM through the glory years. How about all the guys who bailed from SWA, UPS and FedEx for the major jobs at DAL, AAL, UAL etc in 2000. You just never know.

I reported aboard CVAN-65 USS Enterprise in 1975. At that time civilian flying jobs a scarce. I meet this guy who is getting out, going to work for company doing overnight mail, paid $400/mo for a F/O's job, he had to use his GI bill for training in the right seat of the DA-20. The company must have had a gov't contract I thought with a name like Federal Express. He stayed at FedEx, ran across him at a CO's conference in the late 80's he was like a double-digit seniority number.

 

[SIG600]

Long term, 50/50 on both. From a today stand point, United. Better contract, work rules and money.

 

[Carl_Spackler]

Where do you live, or want to live?

 

[DCAA320]

Whichever one that allows you not to commute. So many retirements at AA, if you are a Texan, pick them.

 

[jonjuan]

I reported aboard CVAN-65 USS Enterprise in 1975. At that time civilian flying jobs a scarce. I meet this guy who is getting out, going to work for company doing overnight mail, paid $400/mo for a F/O's job, he had to use his GI bill for training in the right seat of the DA-20. The company must have had a gov't contract I thought with a name like Federal Express. He stayed at FedEx, ran across him at a CO's conference in the late 80's he was like a double-digit seniority number.

And he's dead now. What's your point?

 

[DCAA320]

And he's dead now. What's your point?

Come on jonjuan, the only point he ever has is don't go to college.

 

[airgator]

My 2 cents:
Same $hit, different paint job. I went to US Air last year for 6 months, right after the merger was announced, and then jumped ship for UA, solely for the reason I live in a UA hub and stronghold. You can't go wrong with either one; i questioned my move after last years disastrous first quarter for UA but I truly believe the big 3 are all so similar you just have to go with whoever hires you first or given the option has a base where you live. Yes AA has more retirements but also keep in mind UA shrunk before the merger to make it happen and AA is shrinking now post merger. UA is growing mainline now at a pretty good click and shrinking express, and AA is doing the opposite. I think upgrade time will be very similar at both. Don't get so caught up in current contract or reserve rules or blah blah blah, if you have the choice go with whoever has a base in your hometown. FWIW i had fun for my brief stint at US but I really prefer the culture at UA.

 

[pilotyip]

And he's dead now. What's your point?

And your point is? My point was you never know about that job when start out. In fact this guy was going to get me an interview at FedEx, but who would want to fly DA-20 's in the middle of the night

Come on jonjuan, the only point he ever has is don't go to college.

You are out of line, I have never said not to go to college, what I have said is it has nothing to do with flying an airplane.

More in more in the county are starting to question the waste of money a college degree is for many.

Now all that being said, I realize the top 4-5 airlines make the degree thing a shop stopper, so if you want to work at those place you must complete at least an on-line degree from Bubble-Bee State in Gender studies.

The degree is only needed for the last career move, and like some our pilots without degree, they let our company pay for their degrees while building TJ PIC getting ready for the next move. I have seen too any succeed following this path.

 

[jonjuan]

You are out of line, I have never said not to go to college, what I have said is it has nothing to do with flying an airplane.

And yet, ironically, it's required to hired at any reputable, well paying company. No bucks, no Buck Rogers. Good luck not having one.

 

[DCAA320]

And your point is? My point was you never know about that job when start out. In fact this guy was going to get me an interview at FedEx, but who would want to fly DA-20 's in the middle of the night


You are out of line, I have never said not to go to college, what I have said is it has nothing to do with flying an airplane.

More in more in the county are starting to question the waste of money a college degree is for many.

Now all that being said, I realize the top 4-5 airlines make the degree thing a shop stopper, so if you want to work at those place you must complete at least an on-line degree from Bubble-Bee State in Gender studies.

The degree is only needed for the last career move, and like some our pilots without degree, they let our company pay for their degrees while building TJ PIC getting ready for the next move. I have seen too any succeed following this path.

I just think you are a babbling idiot. Nothing personal, you give bad advice full of false hope.

 

[pilotyip]

And yet, ironically, it's required to hired at any reputable, well paying company. No bucks, no Buck Rogers. Good luck not having one.

Guilty of selective editing you left out the other part of that quote

Now all that being said, I realize the top 4-5 airlines make the degree thing a shop stopper, so if you want to work at those place you must complete at least an on-line degree from Bubble-Bee State in Gender studies.

BTW: You mean Spirit, JB, SWA, NJ, Atlas are not reputable companies? No degree required to get hired at these places

 

[pilotyip]

I just think you are a babbling idiot. Nothing personal, you give bad advice full of false hope.

What! it is bad advice not to rack up $100K in debt when you can get the degree paid for by someone else. Talk about false hope.
BTW I just think you are a babbling idiot Very professional fits right in with FI mode of ops

 

[inline]

I just think you are a babbling idiot. Nothing personal, you give bad advice full of false hope.

Oh. You called him a babbling idiot and then say it's nothing personal.

 

[DUBLINFLYER]

Having a piece of paper saying degree does not make a person any better than the average person. I have run across numerous people who have degrees and basically no common sense or real world experience. I bet if you polled the vast majority of pilots with degrees and asked them if they ever used their degree to enhance their flying experience the answer would be no ( just go the degree to get the interview). I know Emery has a good program but not everyone goes there.

 

[pilotyip]

Having a piece of paper saying degree does not make a person any better than the average person. I have run across numerous people who have degrees and basically no common sense or real world experience. I bet if you polled the vast majority of pilots with degrees and asked them if they ever used their degree to enhance their flying experience the answer would be no ( just go the degree to get the interview). I know Emery has a good program but not everyone goes there.

Bingo this man gets it. However I did find that Solid Geometry in college gave me a tremendous advantage at VT-29 in Celestial Navigation Class. Wrote the highest Final Exam score ever recorded at the school, I shot a Local Apparent Noon (LAN) with a three mile error.

 

[maru657]

Which airline do you think is the best to work for now? Which has the best long term potential?

Thanks!

Keep your eyes open, your best choice might be a foriegn airline.

 

[SWA Bubba]

All majors have their plusses and minuses, but right now, all are good choices. And in this industry in particular, it's awful hard to predict what will happen in the future. Figure out which airline offers the best quality of life for you and your family, and make the best of it.

The only surefire advice though, would be to avoid taking any kind of advice at all from FI's reigning scab-wannabe, Maru. That's a given.

Bubba

 

[SpauldingSmails]

JHC, is this the sequel to Groundhog Day!? Just use the search function if you gents want to re-live the college degree argument. There should be a veritable matterhorn of ********************e to wade through - it'll save everyone a lot of time.

 

[Mkubwa]

My 2 cents:
Same $hit, different paint job. I went to US Air last year for 6 months, right after the merger was announced, and then jumped ship for UA, solely for the reason I live in a UA hub and stronghold. You can't go wrong with either one; i questioned my move after last years disastrous first quarter for UA but I truly believe the big 3 are all so similar you just have to go with whoever hires you first or given the option has a base where you live. Yes AA has more retirements but also keep in mind UA shrunk before the merger to make it happen and AA is shrinking now post merger. UA is growing mainline now at a pretty good click and shrinking express, and AA is doing the opposite. I think upgrade time will be very similar at both. Don't get so caught up in current contract or reserve rules or blah blah blah, if you have the choice go with whoever has a base in your hometown. FWIW i had fun for my brief stint at US but I really prefer the culture at UA.

Airgator,

What is it about the UA culture that you like vs. the US culture?

Thx.

 

[SIG600]

Airgator,

What is it about the UA culture that you like vs. the US culture?

Thx.

LUAL/LCAL, for what you read on the interwebs doesn't really exist on the line. The internet animosity is orders of magnitude higher than what you see in real life. The pragmatists realize the integration of the seniority lists is done, and it's time to pull in the same direction. 99% of the guys I fly with, while they may have been "screwed" in some way in their mind, are over it and realize winning the overall game is more important. Minus the scabs, no one has the time of day for them. Everyone is happy for the most part, very few complaints on the contract. Guys are ready for 2017 though to start tweaking it to make it better.

From talking to guys at AA, you have AA/TWA still fighting with each other, now throw in USAir and AmWest and you have a generational food fight of epic proportions stewing. Plus their new contract sucks.

 

[jonjuan]

Guilty of selective editing you left out the other part of that quote

Now all that being said, I realize the top 4-5 airlines make the degree thing a shop stopper, so if you want to work at those place you must complete at least an on-line degree from Bubble-Bee State in Gender studies.

BTW: You mean Spirit, JB, SWA, NJ, Atlas are not reputable companies? No degree required to get hired at these places

Lol-how many people have been hired at SWA without a degree? 10? Lololol.....good luck with those odds.

 

[RJLoser]

LUAL/LCAL, for what you read on the interwebs doesn't really exist on the line. The internet animosity is orders of magnitude higher than what you see in real life. The pragmatists realize the integration of the seniority lists is done, and it's time to pull in the same direction. 99% of the guys I fly with, while they may have been "screwed" in some way in their mind, are over it and realize winning the overall game is more important. Minus the scabs, no one has the time of day for them. Everyone is happy for the most part, very few complaints on the contract. Guys are ready for 2017 though to start tweaking it to make it better.

From talking to guys at AA, you have AA/TWA still fighting with each other, now throw in USAir and AmWest and you have a generational food fight of epic proportions stewing. Plus their new contract sucks.

It's the same here. 99% of the guys are above the bs.

 

[pilotyip]

Lol-how many people have been hired at SWA without a degree? 10? Lololol.....good luck with those odds.

I only know of two, but that was out of the 6 pilots from our place who got hired there. So does that make 33% hired without a college degree at SWA. I notice you did not mention the other places I put up there, because they are not good places to get hired?

BTW: I know alot of people who interviewed with SWA who had college degrees who did not get hired.

 

[sniper]

I say try Delta

 

[ghostrider64]

Reality check... Best paycheck or earned by those with both degrees, and highly skilled experience. Sure there are some one offs here and there, but having a degree means tow things, you realized having one would better your life, and two, you've the ability to learn.

I think it's sad when people don't realize from the get go a degree is a show stopper. We aren't flying dirigibles any longer. If you want to be treated like and executive, paid like an executive then you should to attain the education of an executive.

 

[pilotyip]

Reality check... Best paycheck or earned by those with both degrees, and highly skilled experience. Sure there are some one offs here and there, but having a degree means tow things, you realized having one would better your life, and two, you've the ability to learn.

I think it's sad when people don't realize from the get go a degree is a show stopper. We aren't flying dirigibles any longer. If you want to be treated like and executive, paid like an executive then you should to attain the education of an executive.

In a sense I agree with your post, college degree is not much without experience. That is why 47% of the recent college grads are working at places like Enterprise, Starbucks and host of other high school diploma knowledge level jobs. Then to top that off they have an average of $30K of college loan debt. They cannot buy houses, there dragging down the entry level housing market. Yet people without degrees but experience in areas of market demand are finding good paying jobs. Think Welding, auto-mechanic, Nuclear Power Plant operators

Many College degrees are not preparing these indebted students with skills to get a good job.

An article in the WSJ from the 5th largest employment agency in the country.

"Another big hurdle is the widening skills deficit. At any given time, Mr. Funk says, Express has as many as 20,000 jobs the company can't fill because workers don't have the skills required. His advice to young people who are looking for a solid career is to get training in accounting (thanks to Dodd-Frank's huge expansion of paperwork), information technology, manufacturing-robotics programming, welding and engineering. He's mystified why Express has so much trouble filling thousands of information-technology jobs when so many young, working-age adults are computer literate.

He blames public schools and universities for the skills mismatch. Young people looking for a financially secure future might want to heed one of his favorite pieces of cautionary advice: "If you've got a college degree in psych, poly-sci or sociology, sorry, I can't help you find a job." He urges greater emphasis on vocational and practical skills training in schools, universities and junior colleges."

People are graduating from college with no marketable skills, yet 1,000's of good paying jobs go unfilled because no one has the skills. This fits right in with what I have saying for year, the purpose of advanced education is to give you skills that lead to a good paying job that is in demand. Well except when it comes to flying an airplane where the college degree has nothing to do with the skill set needed for the job, it is only a screening method used by uninformed HR departments.

here is link to the entire article

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324492604579087044033601178.html


BTW: My Mom had 15 grandchildren, all have college degrees, except two. Those two are the highest paid of her grandchildren Skills they learned in the militarty, a pilot and an ATC.

 

[DCAA320]

BTW: My Mom had 15 grandchildren, all have college degrees, except two. Those two are the highest paid of her grandchildren Skills they learned in the militarty, a pilot and an ATC.

It's not our fault there are 13 losers in your family.

Maybe they should have chose their majors more wisely.

 

[pilotyip]

It's not our fault there are 13 losers in your family.

Maybe they should have chose their majors more wisely.

Want to turn this into a college degree thread? be glad to if you want me to.

 

[SpauldingSmails]

Goddamnit, I'm gonna feed the bear here.

Army WO's excluded, how many military pilots lack a "commission-able" degree?