another cfii said:
I think besides the last poster, nobody specifically tell you to stay away from 9E.
I would.
Yes, management is very hostile, and NW ground crews hate us, among others.
Not to mention ceasing negotiations, decreasing Quality Of Life, and the worst reserve rules in the industry plus hostile schedulers to make your life oh so much fun.
But you work with some really fine people (pilots), and one of the better group of MX you can find in regionals. It is a place for you to gain some flight time,
Two of the reasons I stay here... the other two are "I can't replace this income anywhere else right at this moment" and "I'm trying to leave and job-hopping looks bad on a resume."
and if so we're lucky that we may even grow in the near future, you may even see left seat in 3-5 years.
Very, VERY bad idea to use "IF" statements when making a job decision.
Of course there are better place to go,,,
BINGO!
My advice: if you can find another regional with better QOL, go there. If you can't and this is your only choice, then come here, build the time, and bail like others have done, but at least do it with open eyes for what to expect.
One thing that nobody seems to be considering is that as a newhire at 9E you will have the chance to learn at least 2 foreign languages, or the English language if you don't already know it.
To me, that is worth a min of $75.00 on the W-2 (per language).
Just a consideration.
Classic!
It's not THAT bad, but sometimes you gotta listen twice for what the other pilot just said when he or she gets busy - accents get thick and pace of speech picks up.
I will speak from my own experiences. I spent one month on reserve. How long are you folks at Express Jet, ASA, and Skywest on reserve?? A year?? More?? I got hired when they were in a hiring boom. Been here 8 months, 300 below me. Already hold 14+ days off/month.
That is not what the newhires will be experiencing and you know quite well that this month is the first time in MONTHS that the average days off in DTW or MSP has jumped above 12 (including reserves which their bid packs don't - they're people too and they care just as much as you do about days off).
Again, don't rely on IF's when making your decision. We are hiring for attrition that may or may not pick up or slow down. Assume industry standard attrition (1% per month, mostly CA's) and you'll be fine in your decision making. Don't come expecting 1 month of reserve and 14 days off within your first year.
Additionally, remember that 30% of the MEM pilots are only getting 10 days off and the average day off value is 11. Someone mentioned wanting MEM earlier - that's the gamble you take when you pick a base. It's been just as bad in other bases in different months.
Come and get your time if this is the only place that offers a job, just do so knowing what you're getting yourself into.
Incidentally, last I spoke with Scott E. about attrition, he said we'd lost 36 pilots in the month of October, none to disciplinary action, and that was on the 20th. More have probably given their 2 week's notice since then.
