......getting to the majors

[SKC]

I've commuted between ICT and ORD weekly since June. I've been lucky and haven't had many problems. My schedule varies between 4-3 and 4-4. I'd hate to try it on a 5-2 schedule.

 

[rod guhzhinya]

we work 5-3-5, but should be going to 4-4 soon. Haven't had too many problems getting to work, we are in CASS, that helps out a lot.

 

[shooter]

fedex does NOT hire externally. your best shot at fedex is to start throwing boxes somewhere. after 6-12 months you can bid on jobs. there are usually a few job openings every year. 1 of the guys that was just hired is 25 and has less than a year of dispatch experience.

Now tell me how THAT makes any sense?:angryfire

You have a TON of experienced Dispatchers out there that can bring true quality with their experience and they go hire someone with less than a year experience just because he threw boxes!

So much for paying your dues guys, just go throw some boxes or bags to get a Dispatch job!

And whats worse is you guys allow them to do that rather than say you want experience working side by side w/you.

Pathetic!

 

[shooter]

MAN that still fuels my fire! That is what keeps our profession down for the sake of some good 'ol boy system within a company.

Not to just bash FedEx since Delta and Southwest do the same damn thing. Do you think they would hire a pilot since he threw boxes? Would Delta or Southwest hire a baggage handler as pilot over an experience pilot?

So why do we, as Dispatchers, punish those who have paid their dues and gained experience for the sake of politics?

I for one voice my opinion for that practice to STOP because it only hurts Dispatchers,their career and allow management to keep viewing our job as low grade.

 

[RVSM]

I can see pros and cons to each side of this hiring practice but I am not going to risk carpal tunnel to post my opinions because the decision is not ours.
Hiring practices are set by management.

 

[asqmatt]

Delta is hiring right now for 5 spots, but they are taking 3 from ASA, and 2 from comair.

 

[shooter]

Delta is hiring right now for 5 spots, but they are taking 3 from ASA, and 2 from comair.

good to see there is flow through there now. That was what I was looking for when I first hired on with ASA. Went on to much greener pastures since then. So I guess I am wrong about Delta hiring without experience, but they were that way when I was at ASA. If Southwest and FedEx can change their ways maybe paying your dues will mean something again.

 

[ss9e]

Do you think they would hire a pilot since he threw boxes? Would Delta or Southwest hire a baggage handler as pilot over an experience pilot?

fedex posts pilot jobs internally all the time. i know pilots that were handlers, mechanics and dispatchers within the company. paying your dues doesn't always mean dispatching for 10 years at a regional. it also means getting a job at a regional and thowing bags/boxes for a major. i worked 7 days a week for over a year to get the experience needed to get my job. why sit around and wait for a job to go external? why not bust your @ss at 2 jobs for a year or so and get your "dream job"? show some effort.

 

[shooter]

fedex posts pilot jobs internally all the time. i know pilots that were handlers, mechanics and dispatchers within the company. paying your dues doesn't always mean dispatching for 10 years at a regional. it also means getting a job at a regional and thowing bags/boxes for a major. i worked 7 days a week for over a year to get the experience needed to get my job. why sit around and wait for a job to go external? why not bust your @ss at 2 jobs for a year or so and get your "dream job"? show some effort.

yeah, like the 25 year old with less than a year experience?

seems you missed the point

 

[ss9e]

yeah, like the 25 year old with less than a year experience?

seems you missed the point

i understand your point. my point is that it's not really that hard to get on at a major.

 

[shooter]

i understand your point. my point is that it's not really that hard to get on at a major.

understood

it's the practice of hiring without a need for experience that gets me. My employer requires a minimum of 1 year 121 experience to get into to interview. If carriers do not have minimum qualifications to get on at the more "desirable" carriers they could all degrade to commuter level jobs in salary and beni's. Just like ADF, we need to look out for the future of our careers because nobody else will.

Trust me when I say that EVERY company out there would pay you and work you like commuter carriers if they could.

 

[ss9e]

understood

it's the practice of hiring without a need for experience that gets me. My employer requires a minimum of 1 year 121 experience to get into to interview. If carriers do not have minimum qualifications to get on at the more "desirable" carriers they could all degrade to commuter level jobs in salary and beni's. Just like ADF, we need to look out for the future of our careers because nobody else will.

Trust me when I say that EVERY company out there would pay you and work you like commuter carriers if they could.

agreed

 

[shooter]

Like I was saying to asqmatt, its good to see flow through into Delta from ASA and Comair now. You could have 10-15 years experience in 121 Dispatch, International heavy experience with re-clear and ETOP’s and a Red Coat that does not even know what a metar is could get the job over you because they had a practice of hiring only from within.

I say doesn’t that stink. And the Delta Dispatchers just continued to allow the practice knowing damn well that they would be working extra hard for years pulling up the slack due to nothing but lack of experience. I have worked in those offices and its not fun when the crap hits the fan and the FNG’s look like lost sheep.

I don’t know if you SCUBA, but if you do you know its smooth diving 99 percent of the time but its that 1 percent that will kill you or someone else if you don’t know what you are doing.

 

[ss9e]

Like I was saying to asqmatt, its good to see flow through into Delta from ASA and Comair now. You could have 10-15 years experience in 121 Dispatch, International heavy experience with re-clear and ETOP’s and a Red Coat that does not even know what a metar is could get the job over you because they had a practice of hiring only from within.

i started dispatching international heavy a/c 2 years to the day after i got my license. the transition wouldn't have been any easier if i had 10 years experience. dispatching internationally is a WHOLE different ballgame than domestic.

 

[shooter]

i started dispatching international heavy a/c 2 years to the day after i got my license. the transition wouldn't have been any easier if i had 10 years experience. dispatching internationally is a WHOLE different ballgame than domestic.

so if you were dispatching a few international carribean or mexico flights you do not feel that would have helped your experience to dispatch international asia or europe flights? I do not see how it could hinder the process.

 

[ss9e]

so if you were dispatching a few international carribean or mexico flights you do not feel that would have helped your experience to dispatch international asia or europe flights? I do not see how it could hinder the process.

it wouldn't hinder the process, but i don't really see how it helps either.

 

[shooter]

it wouldn't hinder the process, but i don't really see how it helps either.

I see your point. They are still a world apart even though they are international.

 

[Yggdrasil]

Delta is hiring right now for 5 spots, but they are taking 3 from ASA, and 2 from comair.

So is ASA going to hire for these 3 spots??

 

[asqmatt]

Not as far as I have heard just yet. I think the last class had 2-3 extra people in it. Maybe in another couple of months. We also had one leave to dispatch in Saudi Arabia. So next month well be down 4 people.

 

[sir5list]

Delta DOES not have a flow thru! Delta opened the hiring process to everyone who was interested. Folks with a little over a year of experience were interviewed, after the 4 pass/fail written test were completed and passed. Delta did not guarantee any group (ASA and Comair) they would take specific numbers - but they didn't want to deplete those groups of experience.

But Delta did have an idea of folks - if test were passed - of who was worthy of being hired. ASA provided 2 (one with 11 years dispatch / management time, the other with maybe 2 years of dispatch experience). Comair provided 2 (both with 10 + years management experience). The other person was from AirTran with about 5 years time under his belt. I know 4 of those folks, and all are great catches for Delta.

Rumor is Delta will be hiring again this summer - my understanding, new folks are being placed directly into international dispatching. Delta is expanding their international routes - look out for the postings!

ASA will be replacing folks who are leaving - no time frame of when they will be hiring. Rumor is ASA has a program of selecting folks from within the company and paying for their training - sounds like a good program to hire from within. The company has the opportunity to see work ethics, character, supervisor input, etc..