Uphill battle to Majors? Help!

To the OP:

Welcome Taylor! Good choice to come on this board! If you utilize this resource well, it can be very helpful with information and networking opportunities.

Legal discussions aside, what stood out to me in your post was your concern over an "uphill battle". Just about every member on here can probably tell you that all of us have endured hardships in this industry from one time or another that truly tested our committment to this path. Bankruptcies, furloughs, paycuts, mergers, labor issues, and personal sacrificies rarely found in other vocations to name a few.

What separates those who make it from the others is the unshakable committment to succeed. Stick with it and the rewards will come. Good luck. We're here to help.

The only reason I point this out is that there really is no "easy street" for the average aviator. The few that do make it on their high connections, good looks, and charm are usually not well-regarded...
 
STS-41B said:
How far back does PRIA go? 5 years ?
By the time you get to a major, if it's been more than 5 years (if that's the case) can you just mark that period of time as unemployed, instead of going through the whole story of quitting during training?
Or will they find out anyway??
Click to expand...

Some airlines ask for a full employment history. Full as in, well, "Sooooo you got out of high school, what happened next?"

And it can be a "poker game" during the background check. They may know what you don't think they know, as many airlines may use a third party that specializes in this stuff.

If you've got a social media post from 2005 saying "Gave the the double-finger and walked out of ground school" but you simply listed "unemployed" in that same timeframe without mentioning this, it may get flagged.
 
STS-41B said:
How far back does PRIA go? 5 years ?
By the time you get to a major, if it's been more than 5 years (if that's the case) can you just mark that period of time as unemployed, instead of going through the whole story of quitting during training?
Or will they find out anyway??
Click to expand...

IIRC, everything except administrative actions is now indefinite.
 
Derg said:
Some airlines ask for a full employment history. Full as in, well, "Sooooo you got out of high school, what happened next?"

And it can be a "poker game" during the background check. They may know what you don't think they know, as many airlines may use a third party that specializes in this stuff.

If you've got a social media post from 2005 saying "Gave the the double-finger and walked out of ground school" but you simply listed "unemployed" in that same timeframe without mentioning this, it may get flagged.
Click to expand...

Speaking of social media:

1. Don't be stupid.
2. Don't post ANYTHING while you are in training.
3. Don't post while drunk. It's not as good of a defense as you think it is.

That is all.
 
PhilosopherPilot said:
Speaking of social media:

1. Don't be stupid.
2. Don't post ANYTHING while you are in training.
3. Don't post while drunk. It's not as good of a defense as you think it is.

That is all.
Click to expand...

All true.

My suggestion is once you get the interview invite, go "inactive" or whatever they call it until the background check is done. And then wait another three weeks.
 
I've said it before. Pilots who post on social media while drinking (and worse) and expecting that it won't be found during job hunting are foolish and ill prepared to interview. I like social media. Use it all the time. But you'll never see any reference to drinking on there. (Unlike my unemployed brother who constantly posts about his obsession with rum)

I have a friend who is job hunting and changed his name on Facebook from first/last to first/middle to make himself harder to find. I don't know if that works, but certainly can't hurt!
 
ZapBrannigan said:
I've said it before. Pilots who post on social media while drinking (and worse) and expecting that it won't be found during job hunting are foolish and ill prepared to interview. I like social media. Use it all the time. But you'll never see any reference to drinking on there. (Unlike my unemployed brother who constantly posts about his obsession with rum)

I have a friend who is job hunting and changed his name on Facebook from first/last to first/middle to make himself harder to find. I don't know if that works, but certainly can't hurt!
Click to expand...

AAPalmTree said:
I heard Delta has a social media officer that busts perspective hires if they step out of line on line.
Click to expand...

Okay so as a responsible adult you cannot post about parting in alcohol on social media if you want to get hired at a legacy???

I would think this is acceptable:

My wife and I went to an awesome wine tasting in Marin County.

My wife and I found just bought a 1926 Scotch, good drinking going on in this house tonight.

Not Good:

I just got totally f'in sh*tfaced and puked in my buddies car, and streaked my neighborhood.
 
ZapBrannigan said:
I've said it before. Pilots who post on social media while drinking (and worse) and expecting that it won't be found during job hunting are foolish and ill prepared to interview. I like social media. Use it all the time. But you'll never see any reference to drinking on there. (Unlike my unemployed brother who constantly posts about his obsession with rum)

I have a friend who is job hunting and changed his name on Facebook from first/last to first/middle to make himself harder to find. I don't know if that works, but certainly can't hurt!
Click to expand...

I don't concur. Drinking is a socially acceptable pastime and I tihnk they're more interested in extreme anti-social behavior and items like "LOLZ, called in sick and went to Disney! Woot!" or a history of "JetOrange blows!" when you have their application on your desk.

Or "Enjoying a post interview blunt after my Alaska interview" (this has happened, somewhat)

No one cares if you drink. But if you're posting selfies while driving and say "coming back from the bar and I'm fabulously drunk" and there's a dead hooker visible in the passenger seat, ummm, yeah, that would be concerning.

Largely, it's a great idea to tamp down on it when the interview invite comes. It's a treasure trove of information that's freely available and sometimes I'll have a peek if I don't know the new copilot I'm flying with.
 
Last edited:
Derg said:
Ok.
Click to expand...
image.jpeg
 
Derg said:
It's a treasure trove of information that's freely available and sometimes I'll have a peek if I don't know the new copilot I'm flying with.
Click to expand...

Kinda like the captain who googled/looked me up in the FAA database and mentioned my type ratings, city I live in, and the street I'm on when we first met at the gate.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top