PSA Gound Instructor

[platinumclub]

Just a question for anyone who has an opinion on it...

PSA is hiring ground instructors, I'm possibly up for an interview. I would use this as a stepping stone to get to the right seat of a CRJ, time is 1.5-2 years as it sounds. I am currently fairly low time, so it would probably take that long to get into a CRJ anyway, not to mention a good salary for the time being. Am I better off continuing to instruct (I'm pulling about 15-20hrs of Multi per month currently), or should I take the next step. Any feedback is appreciated. Peace

 

[chperplt]

If your goal is to fly airplanes, it's easier to get a job flying airplanes when you're already flying airplanes.

 

[JTrain]

Not necessarily. Who you know, as well as connections will go a long way in this business.

At ACA, I know of several people who because they were working for the company in other capacities got hired at a very low total time. Needless to say, their min for hiring were considerably reduced compared to off the street candidates. Sometimes these ppl were working as ground instructors, but I've seen dispatchers, ops people, and of course interns hired on at low tt as well.

However were I in your shoes, I'd take a look at a few other factors, namely the future of PSA and the whole USAirways family. You don't want to invest precious time into something only to have it disappear. Maybe try doing the same at SkyWest or Comair or something - peruse their website and check the openings they have.

Good luck,

JT

 

[Crizz]

Take the job for sure... then PM me with contact info on your current job!

 

[Lance501]

Take the job. PSA counts time as an instructor as line holding senority. I don't know if they still do it but I know of three guys that did that and when they finished their tour of duty with the paper tigers they were almost captains.

 

[Flex]

Let's see.

1. Get a job flying at Airnet or some place similar, build lots of quality IFR, ME, 135 time, sharpen your skills.

2. Be an instructor at a 121 airline... stand in front of a blackboard, lose your currency, build NO time, but build "seniority".

The big question is: how long would you have to wait? While your cleaning erasers your compadres will be out there flying. Takes a certain pesonality to handle that. Like Dayton?

 

[SRJ]

Platinumclub,

Dont listen to JTrain or Flex, you need to do what is best now. From the looks of what lance has flown I would say that he is an employee there and knows what he is talking about. Don't worry about someone scaring you into believing that Comair or Skywest is going to be a better deal in the long run. PSA is now taking delivery of CRJ-700's in addition to their CRJ-200's. You would be getting in on what could be the saving grace of USAir. From the sound of things PSA could be bigger than Comair one day. Imagine starting at comair as a ground instructor before they grew to their size now. Even if USAir did not make it, PSA is going to be an asset to one of the airlines one day. I say take the job and do what is best fo you now. Besides, having "121 ground instructor" added to the resume never hurts.

 

[Smoking Man]

INSTRUCTORS

4. If the Company hires an instructor whose name does not appear on the Pilots' System Seniority List, his name shall be placed on the Pilots' System Seniority List when he enters training with the Company for the duties of a pilot.

This clause was added to the contract after the above mentioned fiasco.

 

[JTrain]

Platinum Club,

Do yourself a favor and ignore the comments by SRJ. His words are well-aimed at the ever threatening confederacy of dunces.
Not meaning to rag on the USAirways family, but Mr. SRJ is definitely the optimist (I too wish USAir the best). However based on how I see the company struggling, I am concerned about their long-term viability as an airline, and as such would hesitate to invest a year or more in a ground instructor job at PSA with the carrot of a flying job the reward. Will USAir be here one year, 5 years, 15 years from now? Thats anybody's guess - again I for one *hope* they pull a Continental-style turnaround. The realist in me says they're going to have a tough go at it, especially now that Southwest will be invading their PHL hub.

I think the principle of you getting a ground instructor job at a good 121 operator is a sound one - it will position you nicely to get a flying job with the company, assuming you do your job well for a year or whatever the time stipulation may be. Make sure you broach whomever does your interview/screening process about the possibility of that so you don't invest a nice chunk of time only to be told you need to meet their street-hiring minimums. If you question the validity of what I'm saying, just go to the Major interview board, scroll down to pg. 2 or 3. FedEx has resumed limited hiring and guess who are the first ones going to class? Internal candidates - people who were ground or sim instructors, put in the time, interviewed, got hired. What do you think of that, Mr. SRJ

If I were you, I'd employ the ground instructor strategy, only at a more stable place, ie SkyWest, Comair, ASA. Here at ACA we've had a few ground instructors who transitioned to the line; at least two I can think of were placed on the pilot seniority list when they started teaching.

Good luck with whatever you choose,

JTrain

 

[SRJ]

You can do what you want. Obviously from someone who is already established at a 121 carrier, wich by the way is facing their own problems in the future, like JTrain, it is easier to choose since they are already on that side of the fence. But, this is just my opinion.

PS.. JTrain, whats your point?

 

[JTrain]

SRJ - my point. In my personal opinion, I consider the whole USAirways family to be like the RMS Titanic. You on the other hand prefer to think of the USAirways Express/PSA as something that's going to be the next Comair. Something's gotta give - our opinions are 180 degree opposites.

Now SRJ - I hope you're right! I really do!!! . The last thing I want to see is USAir go under and thousands of pilots put on the street. However I dare say anyone who's been watching that company and the way its been misrun for the last 10+ years would share an opinion much closer to mine than to yours. It remains to be seen how USAir will fight off Southwest's coming invasion of their PHL hub - and yes - PSA CRJs could be a big part of the counterattack.

The great thing about America though - those who take chances get the rewards. It may be a gamble to take a job as a ground school instructor at PSA when the whole USAirways Express family's future is a big ???. However should things pan out, our friend PlatinumClub would be supremely situated to use his "in" their to get a seniority #, and to benefit from all future growth. If I was PlatinumClub, that's a gamble I wouldn't take, because as I've expressed, I don't believe in the USAirways business model at present (again this is my personal opinion, nothing more). And If PlatinumClub is serious about working his way into a 121 operator through a teaching position -which has been done successfully many many times over- I think he'd be better served by doing it at Comair or SkyWest or COEX or someplace similar to that, rather than investing time in a company that may not be here this time next year.

Regards - best of luck with your career. Keep your fingers crossed for us here at ACA as well. It's a gamble also, but one that I firmly believe in.

JTrain.