Regional Interview Blues/Celebration

[SpatialD]

So I emailed my resume to ExpressJet last night - you know, just to see what would happen - and first thing this morning Angela from HR calls with a few routine questions and now I've got an interview set up for the 13th (she wanted to make it the 8th but I thought I better squeeze a little more prep time in).

Now I'm sitting here looking at these interview instructions she sent me, and feeling like I'm applying for a pilot gig in the Air Force or something. It all seems so serious and important, but then I remember the $22k salary and it starts to seem more like a McDonald's job. The whole process is already very disorientating

Guess I better call the doc and upgrade my medical certificate since they want to see my Class I at the interview. Also, can someone tell me the process to get that FCC radio permit? I fly internationally now, but my company never told me to get one, so that's another thing I need to take care of right away. Oh, and feel free to PM me if you'd like to be one of my four required references :nuts:

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the interview and finding out whether I really want the job or not (assuming they offer it to me, of course). I'm also applying to AWAC and thinking about maybe just staying in the freight biz a while longer to build PIC time. In any case, I hope my next job is a good one because I HATE looking for a new job - ready to settle somewhere for a while. Seriously, I'm grateful to have this and wish the best for anyone else trying to get an interview.

Thanks for letting me vent/celebrate/panic... Maybe this is a good thing, huh?

 

[General Lee]

I honestly think Expressjet is the best regional out there. The bases do kinda suk, but the flying has variety and you fly a pretty nice plane. Their contract got some large improvements during the last round also. Good luck.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[SpatialD]

Thanks, General.

Oh, I forgot to ask - could someone tell me what I might reasonably expect to make my first year with ExpressJet (is it really $22k) or AWAC? Please don't send me to Airline Pilot Central (good site though) - I'm looking for the real bottom line after per diem, rigs, etc. Also, will I have enough usable time off to supplement with some flight instruction or something?

 

[Alchemy]

You'll probably end up with less than 22k from DOH to end of year 1 since training takes 6-8 weeks and they only give you a $1500 per diem check for that. Granted they pay for the hotel (which includes breakfast and discounts at the restaurant for the rest of the meals) so at least your living expenses should be low.

As an FO getting hired now you will be on reserve for a while, at least 6-8 months. I'd guess you probably won't be flying all that much, so you'll be hard pressed to fly beyond monthly guarantee. I think I ended up earning about $20,000 after my first year, granted training took a full 2 months for me since they took a week off for thanksgiving.

The pay sucks hard, and supposedly we're one of the "better paying" regionals. It's pretty rediculous that all of our captains can't make 70 bucks an hour, and our 1st year FO's could make more as garbage men or even flippin' burgers at Mickey D's, but hey, I guess I still took the job. Hopefully this place will just be a stepping stone to better things, just don't let the HR department get wind of that during the interview. Also, be cheerful and enthusiastic when they ask you how you'd feel about starting out in Newark.

As far as time off, if you live in base supplemental instructing would be possible while on reserve. I typically flew less than 50 hours a month, and that was a year ago when they were a little leaner on FO's than they are now.

Also, if your interview is on the 13th of december, try to apply for that FCC license pretty quickly. You get it through an application at FCC.gov. If you can't find it online just call them and they'll walk you through it. It costs about 50 bucks if I remember correctly.

They are "fastidious" about their paperwork during the interview.

 

[supersonic1981]

Spacial D,
Did you send you apply online last night and get the call the next morning? Does anyone out there know about how long it takes expressjet to reply if they are interested? I put my stuff in about a week ago through the current/furlough 135/121 section. TT-3,000, Turbine-1300, Turbine multi PIC-500. Current 135. Does anyone know if these times are competitive, and if so how long I should expect to wait for a call? Any help would be appreciated!
Good luck Spacial, I hear ExpressJet is a terrific place to work!
Thanks All,

 

[labbats]

Not to start measuring paychecks, but at Eagle with a similar pay structure I cleared in the upper 20s with perdiem, etc during my first year. I never picked up OT, and am still on reserve.
Hope this helps you figure it out somewhat.

 

[BoilerUP]

didn't you get full guarantee through training, labatts?

 

[BigHangar]

AT XJT you will make about 25K your first year with all take home compensation. If you're off of reserve and you utilize the great open time abilities we have, you should easily be able to just about touch 30K. It's brutal, but those are the facts of all the regionals...and even the legacy carriers at this point. Look at CAL's first year pay...it sucks too.

Good luck!

 

[turbinesurgeon]

Spacial D,
Did you send you apply online last night and get the call the next morning? Does anyone out there know about how long it takes expressjet to reply if they are interested? I put my stuff in about a week ago through the current/furlough 135/121 section. TT-3,000, Turbine-1300, Turbine multi PIC-500. Current 135. Does anyone know if these times are competitive, and if so how long I should expect to wait for a call? Any help would be appreciated!
Good luck Spacial, I hear ExpressJet is a terrific place to work!
Thanks All,

I don't know about the hiring process over there. The first time I submited my stuff over there it took them two months to get a call and by that time I had started with another regional. Now I resubmited my stuff using the 121 Furlough link two weeks ago and I have not heard a thing. I have a little less time then you. Maybe they just want really low time guys?

 

[SpatialD]

Spacial D,
Did you send you apply online last night and get the call the next morning? Does anyone out there know about how long it takes expressjet to reply if they are interested? I put my stuff in about a week ago through the current/furlough 135/121 section. TT-3,000, Turbine-1300, Turbine multi PIC-500. Current 135. Does anyone know if these times are competitive, and if so how long I should expect to wait for a call? Any help would be appreciated!
Good luck Spacial, I hear ExpressJet is a terrific place to work!
Thanks All,

turbinesurgeon has a point - maybe you have too much time. Try pointing out that you've been in the biz long enough to know what you really want, and that's why you're applying to this company, blah, blah, blah. I had a similar line in my cover letter and I think it looked pretty good.

Yeah, I put my app in online, first through the external applicant section (went through the entire process there - didn't just get the reference number and run over to the 135/121 section). Then, with all that in order, I clicked over to the current/furloughed page and put it in there. Had to paste my cover letter and resume into the text box there, and it looked like crap when I hit the submit button and got to see a preview (even though I put a lot of effort into making it look nice in the text box). At least on the external app section I was able to attach it as a nice, neat .pdf file. Maybe the current pilot section just flags their attention to take a look at the other. Whatever, I guess my point is it's all about the details - which is one reason I don't like job-hunting, because I end up spending way too much time formatting text in a box and such nonsense.

Anyway, yeah, I put it in Sunday night sitting here in my PJ's, and had a message waiting from Angela when I woke up the next morning. There's nothing special about me though, so don't get all discouraged or anything. In fact, if I had your kind of time, I wouldn't give the regionals a second look. Go to a fractional and make some real money and enjoy the QOL. Just my 2 cents.