I’d like to work for a regional airline in the next year. I know that sounds ambitious given my current times, but I think hiring will improve markedly after January.
I’ve also decided that unless the job is fun and I’m treated reasonably well I’d just assume go back to my old career, which is not terrifically fun, but I will be paid and treated very well. I figure two out of three is better than zero for three.
So I’ve defined my criteria as follows.
1) I have to be able to live while I’m being trained. I can not go to training for free and put myself up in a hotel and buy my own food for 6 weeks. I just don’t have that much cash on hand and the principal of it makes me mad!
2) I’m willing to take probationary pay the first year but I have to have a livable wage the second year. A livable wage to me is 30K a year or more.
3) Given the fact that I see lots of flying going to the regionals I have to look at this as a place where I could potentially stay for my career. While I don’t have dreams of making 250K a year (it would be nice) I’d expect captain pay to pretty decent and I think 75K a year is not wholly unrealistic for a small jet.
4) Finally there is work environment. Obviously pilots (especially junior ones) work holidays and weekends, but I’d like to go somewhere where management has some regard for quality of life. That means you get some scheduled days off, over time is allowed but not essentially “required” as it has been in non pilot corporate jobs I’ve had in the past. And if you ask to go to a funeral or a wedding once a year you aren’t give a near reprimand for having the nerve to ask.
Given all that, are my expectations way out of line? Obviously hiring could be worse next year and there is not much I could do about that, timing is everything and I can just hope mine works out ok. I expect to be at 1500 / 300 in June of next year give or take a little. I have a BA and a MS (that’s my backup plan) so my education is taken care of.
What regionals if any would meet that description?
I’ve also decided that unless the job is fun and I’m treated reasonably well I’d just assume go back to my old career, which is not terrifically fun, but I will be paid and treated very well. I figure two out of three is better than zero for three.
So I’ve defined my criteria as follows.
1) I have to be able to live while I’m being trained. I can not go to training for free and put myself up in a hotel and buy my own food for 6 weeks. I just don’t have that much cash on hand and the principal of it makes me mad!
2) I’m willing to take probationary pay the first year but I have to have a livable wage the second year. A livable wage to me is 30K a year or more.
3) Given the fact that I see lots of flying going to the regionals I have to look at this as a place where I could potentially stay for my career. While I don’t have dreams of making 250K a year (it would be nice) I’d expect captain pay to pretty decent and I think 75K a year is not wholly unrealistic for a small jet.
4) Finally there is work environment. Obviously pilots (especially junior ones) work holidays and weekends, but I’d like to go somewhere where management has some regard for quality of life. That means you get some scheduled days off, over time is allowed but not essentially “required” as it has been in non pilot corporate jobs I’ve had in the past. And if you ask to go to a funeral or a wedding once a year you aren’t give a near reprimand for having the nerve to ask.
Given all that, are my expectations way out of line? Obviously hiring could be worse next year and there is not much I could do about that, timing is everything and I can just hope mine works out ok. I expect to be at 1500 / 300 in June of next year give or take a little. I have a BA and a MS (that’s my backup plan) so my education is taken care of.
What regionals if any would meet that description?