ANG ART vs Airlines

[tedspal01]

I am a full time ANG technician looking into going to the airlines. Just wondered what opinions people had about each path. I just got off AD and am 29 with a little under 2000 military hours.

Thanks

 

[BiffF15]

Tespal,
Make a list of what is valuable to you, whether it's time off, money, quality of life, etc. Then compare the airlines (both freight and pax) to what you are doing now in the ANG. Add in known or probable add ons' (marriage, kids). Then extrapolate it out to the point you can retire from one or the other (age 55 to 65). Your answer will probably become obvious.
Biff

 

[AA717driver]

There was a thread on the military section here on the "joys" of being an ART.

I'm not military so I can't comment on the ART thing but they didn't paint a very rosy picture of being an ART.

You will need to get more time if you want to apply to the majors. I'd imagine the ART thing pays better than the regionals. If you have a lot of Lear time, you might get into AirNet (or whoever the big Lear night freight operation is...) and get some time built pretty quick. JMO. Good luck. TC

 

[JDriver]

I was an ART for 5 years. The great part about the job is that you are a government employee. Good benefits, but ARTs tend to get roped into working alot of days straight. Inbetween working the 5 days per week, uta, weekend trainers, ja/atts, allocated missions, night trainers, drop zone, and the deployments, time off can get slim.

I left the ART Program for FDX, and have never been happier. There are others who I used to work with that love the ART gig and the security that comes along with it. It all depends on what you want. The airline quality of life is great, but does not have the security of the ART job.

If I would not have gotten hired at FDX, I probably would have made a career out of the ART program.

 

[BiffF15]

There was a thread on the military section here on the "joys" of being an ART.

I'm not military so I can't comment on the ART thing but they didn't paint a very rosy picture of being an ART.

You will need to get more time if you want to apply to the majors. I'd imagine the ART thing pays better than the regionals. If you have a lot of Lear time, you might get into AirNet (or whoever the big Lear night freight operation is...) and get some time built pretty quick. JMO. Good luck. TC

The amount of time a person has counts, but the amount of PIC is more important. Having 2k total is okay if 1500 (or a large amount) of it's PIC. Find out what each airline you might target requires to be sure. They usually require ATP min's, with a certain amount of PIC. I had 1900 total when I got picked up by a major airline, however 1700 was PIC / IP.

 

[NewmanF16]

The good thing about being an ART is you can quit when you're ready to move on. AGRs are under contract and can't leave until their contract it up (mine is up the end of the month). Take the ART job, get your apps in, and make a decision when you have choices.

BTW, don't fool yourself. ARTs work A LOT. You are essentially an hourly employee of the government, have to keep timecards, follow union rules, etc. Besides that you have to work your guard job. There is definitely an art to being an ART, and figuring out the system to not get screwed and maximize pay. In a traditional unit, you will also have a 12 day hostage crisis once a month.

 

[BiffF15]

Nice bubble pass...

 

[felixf16]

Just a little bit out of plane...

 

[AA717driver]

The amount of time a person has counts, but the amount of PIC is more important. Having 2k total is okay if 1500 (or a large amount) of it's PIC. Find out what each airline you might target requires to be sure. They usually require ATP min's, with a certain amount of PIC. I had 1900 total when I got picked up by a major airline, however 1700 was PIC / IP.

I understand that but you had single-seat time. What are the odds that, with "T's" and Lear in his resume that the bulk of the flight time will be PIC?

Just trying to look at it from an HR perspective (not that I've taken enough drugs to be able to do THAT!) and maybe temper his hopes. He'll get blown away by an RJ captain with 5,000 hours w/1,500 PIC. Doesn't hurt to get in the game early and try, though. JMO. TC

 

[BiffF15]

Unless I'm mistaken the upgrade time to Lear Capt (civilian speak) is pretty quick. I wouldn't doubt he has already gained a good chunk of PIC time.
I'm not trying to build false hopes for anyone. I just made an assumption based on past experiences in speaking or flying with the C-21 folks.