B-737 type rating for SWA hurt you elsewhere?

[Irishav8r]

All good info guys because I have wondered about it myself. Good thread...

 

[Charlie Brown]

I do not have the type, although a friend of mine does. He explains it as not having a sole desire to work for SWA but as a commitment to aviation and his career. He says it proves he is trainable to fly the same class of aircraft operated by all of his target companies (he is an RJ guy). He is a stand-up guy and has a good background, but has been unsuccessful to this point landing a job. So I don't know if he interviews poorly, they don't like him because of the 737 type or what, but I feel like his reasons for having it are solid.

 

[Lear70]

I do not have the type, although a friend of mine does. He explains it as not having a sole desire to work for SWA but as a commitment to aviation and his career. He says it proves he is trainable to fly the same class of aircraft operated by all of his target companies (he is an RJ guy).

Actually... if I was an interviewer and he threw that answer at me, I might raise the bullsh*t flag.

I don't doubt your assertion that he's a stand-up guy, so don't get me wrong, I'm really not trying to dispariage him at all, but I DO recommend HIGHLY him getting some professional interview coaching.

He sounds like he needs it for 2 reasons: first, if he's getting interviews but no jobs, he's doing something wrong. Period. Either something in his background or his interview skills needs work.

Second, that answer about the type comes across sounding like a cop-out. Better to say, "Yes, Southwest was one of my target airlines and I have done everything possible to make myself as desirable as possible to the two (or three or whatever) airlines I have applications with. This is a great company and I have done everything possible to secure THIS position, and will be a committed and dedicated employee."

He is a stand-up guy and has a good background, but has been unsuccessful to this point landing a job. So I don't know if he interviews poorly, they don't like him because of the 737 type or what, but I feel like his reasons for having it are solid.

Most airlines don't look at someone "buying" a type rating, no matter what it's in, and then having zero time in it as an advantage over another candidate. Most of those 737 places are type rating mills and spoon feed you by fire hose everything you need to pass, including answers to oral questions, exact checkride profiles, and the checkrides almost NEVER deviate from what you've practiced. I think the failure rate is in the single digit percentile for most of them.

A 737 type is not really indicative of your ability to pass training and survive in an airline environment, it's just a check mark on an application for Southwest. He nees a better answer IMHO.

 

[Oh-ryan]

never had to use it in an interview, but I planned on stating that I had GI Bill benefits that I never planned on using for college, so I let them pay for half of it... and at the time I was looking for employment (in 2003), SWA was one of two major pax carriers that was hiring so I needed every edge I could get. That's the honest answer.

 

[vetrider]

Like someone said earlier, its hard to be a good liar. I think interviewers can tell someone who means it when he tells them he just wants a job at a good outfit versus someone who merely parrots the line.

I've never been involved in hiring anywhere and likely never will be, but i'm pretty sure I could spot a bs artist who intends to spend his time doing nothing else but seeking "greener" pastures. I'm sure most interviewers are plenty able to do the same.

 

[Afterprop]

Not at AirTran

FWIW, be honest and tell the truth . . . most HR personnel are really in tune with what and how you're saying something and will most likely pick up on a fib. Tell the truth, and go with it. At my interview with AirTran, it never came up except one of the interviewers mentioned as an aside, "I hope you get to the 737 since you already have the type."
Cheers
'Props

 

[hawkerflyer]

A friend of mine was turned down at SWA, interviewed at CAL and was hired. It did come up but according to him, the interviewer actually joked about it. It seems like it's certainly manageable, if everything else goes well.

 

[GFunk20]

Not to mention your chances of going to the 737 at CAL are high anyway.


Great info guys, thanks a ton. Its just an issue Ive been wondering about lately when deciding what to do in the future.

Fly safe!

 

[Ninerfan]

It Helped

I had a 737 type and was hired by SWA when I interviewed at Fedex. It didn't come up. I'll tell you this, it was a very valuable training experience and helped me when I upgraded to the right seat of the 727 here at Fedex. FWIW.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

I am guessing Spirit frowns on the 737 type since they single it out on thier application even though they don't fly any and I don't think that acquiring them will happen any time soon.

 

[Tejas-Jet]

Most of those 737 places are type rating mills and spoon feed you by fire hose everything you need to pass, including answers to oral questions, exact checkride profiles, and the checkrides almost NEVER deviate from what you've practiced. I think the failure rate is in the single digit percentile for most of them.

Just an FYI....at my old "legacy" carrier, where I got my 737 type during my Captain upgrade....It was a 2 week ground school and in that ground school I got "everything I needed to pass."

We also had 5 sim ride followed by a PC and a LOFT....and I was overly prepared for that...

And the failure rate at my old "legacy" was also in the single digit percentile from what I was told by a Check Airman....

Soooooo....where's the difference?

BTW....got the type and sent in my app to SWA the very next day.

Tejas

 

[Lear70]

Just an FYI....at my old "legacy" carrier, where I got my 737 type during my Captain upgrade....It was a 2 week ground school and in that ground school I got "everything I needed to pass."

We also had 5 sim ride followed by a PC and a LOFT....and I was overly prepared for that...

And the failure rate at my old "legacy" was also in the single digit percentile from what I was told by a Check Airman....

Soooooo....where's the difference?

BTW....got the type and sent in my app to SWA the very next day.

Tejas

The difference is that you were being trained BY AN AIRLINE to actually fly the airplane, then you logged time in it.

HUGE difference. If you have any real question about that, go get a 20- series Lear type, they're about $4,000 to $6,000, one of the cheapest around, then go apply for a 20- series Lear job with 0 Learjet time, see how far that gets you (hint: most insurance companies require at LEAST 500 to 1,000 Lear PIC before they'll turn you loose in a 20- series).

Same would probably happen if you tried to get a direct-entry 737 PIC job in Asia or elsewhere they're hiring DE 737 CA's with the type but without any actual flight time in the 737.

The 737 type means next to nothing except for Southwest.

 

[Hamburger]

I think it ultimately boils down to how your potential employers VIEW
THEMSELVES on the food chain. CAL, JetBlue, etc seem to be comfortable in the knowledge that if they hire you, you are not going to jump ship to SWA.

Whereas, say, Allegiant, Champion, Kallitta, etc. know the score and will hold it against you.

I think the interviewing employer's attitude towards this issue SPEAKS VOLUMES as to what they have to offer career-wise.

 

[FreightNazi]

Have heard that UPS HR is very hesitant about a candidate with a 737 type.

 

[Tejas-Jet]

The difference is that you were being trained BY AN AIRLINE to actually fly the airplane, then you logged time in it.

True dat !!! But I thought your comments were about training....not actually flying the airplane...and your statement concerning training....when I walked out of that sim building with my freshly printed, wet ink, type rating and not yet having flown the airplane ( well, in the Left seat, anyway)....it was no different that a type one gets from a type school....it said "B 737" just like any other type....

And remember....airlines also do 737 type training to outside customers. In fact, as I recall, my old legacy also started charging for those that "just might want" a 737 type....and the pilots that took advantage of that never had any intention of flying the airplane....at that airline.

Tejas