JetBlue vs. Guard Technician Job

[tedspal01]

Currently have a technician job was offered a job at JetBlue. What do you think?

 

[Flyiguy]

Did you ask Ted?:beer:

 

[Mooseflyer]

If you're not yet tenured for retirement (5 years), I'd stay with the ART job. Actually, I'd stay anyway.

 

[RedDogC130]

Depends on the unit...you could not pay me to be an ART at my unit....to much b.s...take the Jetblue it will be a good job and if you want the airline gig, you will not get it most likely being an ART.

 

[hindsight2020]

Depends on the unit...you could not pay me to be an ART at my unit....to much b.s...take the Jetblue it will be a good job and if you want the airline gig, you will not get it most likely being an ART.

huh? you lost me there....

 

[johnsonrod]

Depends on the unit...you could not pay me to be an ART at my unit....to much b.s...take the Jetblue it will be a good job and if you want the airline gig, you will not get it most likely being an ART.

For those of us who are non-military, what is an ART? What is a technician job and how could it get you to a position at Jet Blue?

 

[GuinessGuy]

Technician job is a good deal if you can handle the office type thing. Its also secure, you're home every night (minus AEF rotations) and GS13 is not bad. Waking up every morning to be in the office by 0700 was rough for me. UTA weekends made for a long 11 day stretch.

I'm at B6 and enjoy it. They are very flexable with Mil Leave. I never have to produce documentation to prove myself. They just say "what and how many days ya need."

I'm lucky because I drive to both gigs. 100 miles to JFK and 45 to WRI.

If I had to commute, I'd be miserable.

Commute to the airline, drive to the unit-TECH JOB
Drive to airline, drive to unit - TOUGH CHOICE
Commute to airline, commute to unit - CRAZY (but I know nut jobs that do it with a smile)

 

[GuinessGuy]

Oh, big technician bonus............HOLIDAYS OFF and "seniority who!"

Airline bonus.........Schedule flexability (ie, fly nights to sleep in, Bid for it. Fly mornings so you can be home by 1500 on day 4, Bid for it)

Airline minus.........SENIORITY SUCKS.....except for one

 

[hindsight2020]

For those of us who are non-military, what is an ART? What is a technician job and how could it get you to a position at Jet Blue?

Air Reserve Technician. It's a federal civil service position for members of the ANG/AF Reserve where you pretty much work full-time at the unit in the same capacity (most of the time) as you do as a Reservist (military status). You are basically part of the cadre of people who keep the unit running day to day (versus being a traditional guy). You earn a paycheck based on the GS scale (now it's the NSPS system) on top of your guaranteed pay periods as a traditional. Additionally you get the benefits any other federal civilian employee gets. Pay bands for co-pilot, pilot and IP ranged from GS-9 to GS-13+. Under the NSPS system it's somewhat consolidated into 3 pay bands but that's immaterial to the thread. Bottom line, it's a good paycheck, but as some folks have already expressed here, the office BS makes it undesirable to some people.

As to how it helps to get an airline job, I don't see how it does, since I've heard people argue you don't get to fly as much as an ART than as a bummer/trougher, but I don't know since I don't have one

What this thread doesn't go over is that getting an ART is not easy, these jobs are not just lying around waiting to be picked up, in most units anyways, to most line folks anyways. So the original poster is in good shape, many people don't have the conondrum of ART vs. airline, usually it's airline vs. non-flying job or continue bumming and have the wife put you on her health care until the logbook grows enough for "insert goal airline here" to call. Which I guess would make the choice easier, but I digress.

Guiness brings a good point, I'd look at the QOL aspect of the commute question, which I think is more telling than the money comparison. With an ART you're home every night, and the paycheck is nothing to scoff at. For most people, getting on the airline will mean commuting to domicile, so that's something to considering when comparing the two. I hear those who commute to the unit and live @ the airline domicile just drop off the map at the unit, and complain about making currency; I guess that's also airframe dependent, but I've heard it enough to give it some credence. I say this because it's usually the case that the local folks to the unit get better dibs at the ART job, so your decision to move away from the unit tells the unit you're not interested in an ART job, which is also something to consider (of course the poster in this case already has an ART so this doesn't apply, but for those who were to have both offers it would apply).

I know if I were to have an ART job today I would stick with it, but that's also because I would have to commute to pretty much any airline worth my time from my particular squadron city. I think the extra time at home and the relative cheap cost of living offsets whatever pay differential I may be foregoing by not going the airline route (not to mention the intial paycut and times to build back up to GS-whatever pay and beyond). But if on the other hand I couldn't stand the office BS (and it exists, I buy that) and thought working the airline was just more chill (I can see how it would be for those of us who just want to fly and go home ) and worth the commute hassles then I would go for the airline.

What's the security of an ART job? Well, it's BRAC dependent. The unit undergoes changes and now you have to move, that's not good. If you commuted with the airline then you had already solved that for yourself and wouldn't be facing relocation, so there's a lot of variables and everybody's situation is different.

 

[tedspal01]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I am going to turn down the JetBlue gig. I hope the airline does great. But, to me I think there is too much downside potential without the upside potential.