Unofficial SWA Hiring Mins

[BYUFlyr]

4. My Marine friend, thanks for serving, but you must have flown choppers or rented planes at the aero club to get where you are. Good for you, it shows determination. I did drop off some of you guys in Mogadishu, Somalia, so when American Eagle or Comair do that, let me know.

Wow!!! I was with you until you insulted one of MY homies!!! What's wrong with being a grunt, serving your country with mud in your face and then pursuing a career in aviation? Am I supposed to be ashamed because I chose to pack a seabag instead of a samsonite bag?

What do you have against my Marines? Do we not have a right to an aviation career just like you? Are my aero club hours not worthy to occupy the same industry as your military hours?

 

['72Gremlin]

Children! Don't make me pull over this....

Too late. This civilian vs military thing is SO old (the Marine aspect of it is a little more fresh).

A friend of mine just got back from a humanitarian/disaster relief mission into/out of New Orleans yesterday. He said it was like going into a third world country with no power and the runway lights on emergency power, barely visible. They were the only military flight going in at the time. However, when the sun came up, the military wasn't the only ones flying in and out of New Orleans. He saw jetBlue, America West, Southwest and other commercial airlines fly into that airport... not for revenue flights, but for disaster relief and emergency evacuation.

My point is: WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

This whole, "you gotta be military to get hired by SWA," is as old as the mil vs civ thing and a crock. I have 3 close military friends who spent the 7 grand on the type and didn't get hired this past year. Maybe mil guys have an advantage over civilian guys at a SWA interview... who knows? I, for one, haven't asked LL or RK if that is the case (but at least I have their numbers now, in case I get really bold).

I hope everyone gets what they want (and deserve). It's just frustrating to see this same old argument go around in circles and watch ourselves pit ourselves against each other. Good luck to you all...

Everyone back in the van...

 

[ChinaClipper]

Sooooooo, WTF???????

WHAT IS THE COMPETITIVE PIC TIME?......Geez, is anyone over 5 foot 5 in this conversation???????

 

[SWAPoolie]

Out of my interview group 3 out of 12 were hired and none were military. About 75% of that group were military. Out of my new hire class of 20 about 50% were military.

There is no favoritism on either side. Seems like the numbers game is over when you start the interview. Everyone who gets to the interview most likely is a good pilot. After that they just want to know if you are a SWA type of pilot. Whatever that is only they know.

 

[sf260pilot]

1700 Turbine PIC is competitive.

 

[FR8mastr]

I have a question about the prep courses. WHY? I am not asking why pilots would do it, I am asking why would the airlines want it. What you get at the interview is a pilot who is very skilled at BSing his or her way into a job. You take the course so that you can give the answers and act a certain way that the airline is percieved to want. And according the the above posters 3 out of 4 record it works. So my reasoning is, would the airlines not want to see the real person, not the one who has been trained to behave in a certain way. Not flame bait, just very interested in why.

 

[intel33]

As long as everyone is talking about time conversion, let me throw this out there:



You know what the helicopter conversion factor is?

0



Helicopter pilots don't do the same kind of flying as either civilian or military fixed wing, but ask any f/w guy whose gone for a ride in a helo and he will say "WOW".

Helicopters may not fly mach (although most of the twins will move with a purpose), but there is usually a lot going on and most helo guys have great situational awareness. Strap on a set of goggles, sling a load underneath or set down some where with about five or ten feet of clearance. Helo guys earn their keep, but rarely get credit for it. And, oh yeah, we can fly instruments, too.



There are a few Marines and Army guys out there. I know most of the Army guys go fractional. Maybe because there are more that have gone there before and recognize the experience that goes with the rating.



Having been in the civilian sector, I must say that there are indeed some great civilian pilots and I had to deal with a number of no personality and incapable military pilots as well. Everyone has to accept that different folks start off in different places, but doesn't mean that they shouldn't end up in the same place.



I have had an application WITH a type rating in for 3 and a half years.


I don't even bother with rotor time anymore (my profile includes the rating, but not the time), because while I enjoyed doing it, it might as well not have existed. At least I have a few stories I can convey if I ever get to an interview. My short helo career saw much more action and excitement than a VERY benign fixed wing career. (Two Air Medals flying Medevac in Mogadishu.) Benign is good, but not much to talk about in an interview!

 

[kelbill]

BYUFlyr,

damn fellas, you be readin stuff between the lines that ain't there. All my homies are in the military, not just the USAF. My comment to Russ was for him doggin me about implying I went downtown Baghdad which I never said, all I was doing was defending the military side of the hiring equation. Nothing wrong with toting a seapack, my Pappi was a jarhead enlisted troop. I think I can say that being the son of one. I put two and two together regarding his background, seeing I didn't notice any military jets under his name, so figured he took another route. His comments were not meant to compliment the military, shall we say, because now we are simply competition I assume.

"When SWA starts going downtown Bagdad with a few MK83's slung under the wing let me know."

Sounds like a military slam to me, and from a military guy to boot. You guys are too sensitive. Do whatever you need to do to get the job you want, but remember, I didn't start this thread whining about the civies taking jobs away from my buds who interviewed and didn't get hired. Seems like it was the other way around.

 

[kelbill]

intell33,

my best ride in the military, bar none, was in a MH-53 at Osan AB Korea. Bought the guys a case of beer the next day. Took off at dusk, flew to the coastal plains and landed next to a MH60 (we had NVGs in the back with the ramp down), then off again for some SAR practice, night repelling simulation over a building, hot refueling, and more low level. I loved it and was impressed as hell. I don't go tooting my own horn about my military flying unless it is questioned, and I don't have much to toot about in front of guys like you, but then again, I wouldn't expect to be getting grief from a comrade. Unfortunately there is usually no conversion factor for rotary, although there should be something. Good luck. I've flown with 3 ex-nam helo guys (one later became the first 2Lt F15 pilot) and they were good dudes. That F15 guy apparently had more medals than Saddam Hussein.

FR8mastr,

I think you are missing the point regarding the prep classes/training, at least from what I got out of them. All they really do is help put you at ease during the interview so you can be yourself. Sometimes I like to give PAs standing up in the galley when on the ground for a delay or just a welcome, because the more you do it, the more comfortable you get. Thats it from my standpoint. I learned little if anything about canned answers. All I got was the ability to take a deep breath and shoot the bull a little without seeming too dull or shy. Remember, they want to pick people they figure they can converse with on those long hauls, not some wet blanket. Human nature. Your technical qualifications got you to the interview, so if you feel comfortable being yourself at an interview, you are set.

 

[Shooter38]

I can't believe I'm getting drawn into this, but....

Having closely watched the hiring process since 2001, and particularly watching new hire classes, it is almost exactly 50/50 military/civilian mix. This is not to mention the almost perfect spread of ages 30-50 (+-2). The HR dept has their model of what works and follows it to a T.

Good luck to all....it's a great company!

 

[TV9Driver]

Boy did I inadvertantly stir up a sh*t storm. I was not pulling a "civ. vs. mil" argument - it was merely the numbers from my class. By the way, out of the 8 military pilots they interviewed, they only hired 2 - so being military doesn't get you the job, just might open the door a little wider for an interview.

Am I a little dissappointed at not getting looked yet? - you bet! I spent $8300 dollars on a furloughed pilots pay for a type rating because they told me I was competitive only to tell me after I was there that I wasn't competitive.

I still think it's a great company with great pilots, I just wish I would have spent my money more wisely, that's all.

 

[kelbill]

TV9Driver,

we're all just blowing off steam. Good luck and hang in there. By the way, how many space shuttle hours did you get and what did you log it as? Forget I asked, else the Saturn and Gemini pilots will chime in and start moaning about not being fixed wing or rotary wing.

 

[TV9Driver]

kelbill,

Thanks.... I actually landed at another major and am doing just fine. I just wish I had spent my money on something more usefull like food for my kids...hehe

 

[sf260pilot]

For what it's worth?

CAL will furlough by Spring...Just a guess. 1700 is competitive. And with the Apocolypse happening around Jan 1, 2006; none of this will matter, will it? Civ v. Mil or Gentile V. Hebrew?

 

[NEDude]

At AirInc two weeks ago in DCA, they said 1600 PIC is the threshold for a call.

 

[enigma]

At AirInc two weeks ago in DCA, they said 1600 PIC is the threshold for a call.

But not a guarantee for the call. A quick read of this very forum will show many pilot with many more hours are still awaiting the call.

enigma

 

[135 Guy]

Friends told me to call them when i got 1500 pic, when i interviewed i had 1600 pic

 

[RedDogC130]

Hey here is your chance to be happy. I am a military guy an civilian flyer before that. I did not get the job. Cheer now civi, cheer now. The reference that the military pilot is better or worse than the civi is two-fold. Coming from both backgrounds, I can say my views. The civi that flies for a 121 light-twin aircraft company flying RJs or TPs has the current experience in the operations that a major/national/whoever flies. The problem comes with the experience with stress during a flight. I can attest that when $hit hits the fan in a plane the military guy/gal will deal with it, in my mind since I started in civi and fly in the military and now am going back to fly more civi, better. The type of flying you have in the military from dropping bombs with people of the ground firing god knows what at you, or flying 300 feet modified contour on NVG in the mountains and landing on a 2500 by 60 foot unlit DZ dropping guys off to risk their lives to protect ours. Now try that with an engine out and you can turn back but the other guys on the ground are getting over run and these guys in the back are their backup. The stress level on an average flight is a little higher than going into JFK with low mins. But what is comes down to is the interview. I jacked mine up with SWA, just recently and I know a good civi counterpart that got the job and I did not. So there you go, not every military guy gets it. In this case the majority that got it were civis. Great guy, I wish them luck. The comparision between the 2 types of flying should not come into it. One guy sucked at the interview...me the others did not....them.

 

[radarlove]

The type of flying you have in the military from dropping bombs with people of the ground firing god knows what at you, or flying 300 feet modified contour on NVG in the mountains and landing on a 2500 by 60 foot unlit DZ dropping guys off to risk their lives to protect ours. Now try that with an engine out and you can turn back but the other guys on the ground are getting over run and these guys in the back are their backup.

Wow. That sound so exciting. Do you spend a lot of time looking in the mirror admiring yourself?

 

[RedDogC130]

It is tough but yes I do. Oh no a hair out of place. Need to get that fixed. Can''t go out not looking good. Buddy, you missed the point of the post. But looking at you profile, I can see why. There goes the sterotyping again....I need to stop that, but wait, it seems to be true.