Got my first 121 gig!
- Thread starter JDean3204
- Start date
juxtapilot
Snowflake
Congrats!!
)
AKpilotDream
Well-Known Member
Congrats!
A Life Aloft
Well-Known Member
Awesome job!!!!!!!!
ComplexHiAv8r
Well-Known Member
Congrats!!
Bandit_Driver
Gold Member
Congrats!
Cruise
Well-Known Member
Obviously I don't know your situation, but that sounds like a bad decision to me. Seniority dictates your aviation life...delaying that unnecessarily could be a mistake. How much money could you possibly save in 2 months to warrant delaying class? Regardless, best of luck.
JDean3204
Well-Known Member
As I am aware that seniority does dictate quality of life down the road in many ways. I feel this is a calculated risk that is beneficial in the short run, long run....not so sure yet. I know we should not be short term thinkers when advancing our careers, but a few reasons for my thought process to side with extending....
-I was flat broke and living off of credit cards as an FO at my current gig, after upgrade I was able to pay off most of the debt I had. Now I am working on savings, and yes a few months will mean an extra 3,000 dollars for me to lean on during FO pay that first year. This can be used for crash pad dues or commuting costs and what not. This will help with the stress of initially affording rent at home plus the associated costs of commuting. I refuse to get myself into credit card debt again to take a job. I am half way to that 3K mark now and have crunched the numbers a few times to assure that I will be able to make it happen. The last year and a half was the first time in my life I didn't have any savings for rainy days, which ended up biting me a few times. Just trying to mitigate that!
-If I was at SkyWest, the two month extension would be a bad idea since they are hiring at a rapid pace. However, Horizon is having a hard time getting over 15 people in a month. A few classes with less than 5, so two months at that rate should not be huge considering the numbers.
-Right now, my quality of life is better than it has been since I got out of the Navy...period. Since I got out, I have either been in school full time while in flight school and working multiple jobs which allowed minimal time off.... I know, sounds like adulthood right?
I'm just saying I now have more days off than ever before, including weekends which my girlfriend enjoys. We are having a good time this summer without the stress of not making ends meet, allowing us to stop and smell the roses so to speak. All in all, I have made good progress with my career as I have only had my Commercial for 20 months and have over 1600TT now. So again, a few more months of easier living may be beneficial for my attitude going into my first 121 training environment.... I hope.Now with this being said, I do realize the cons. What if Horizon raises pay or adds a bonus and all of a sudden there are 40-50 guys ahead of me? Well then I just make a phone call and take an earlier class. What if I lose out on a PDX base and end up commuting for a few years to other bases trying to get back home? That is the one I am worried about, but am willing to gamble that based on the amount of movement may happen once the jets get on line.
The issues above are not foreign to anyone that has made the decision to fly for the regionals. In no way do I want it to come across that I am not excited to start class or am second guessing my decision, I just want to make sure I do things right before burying myself alive with financial issues.... Kind of like those that choose to pay as they go instead of financing training, as it may take a little bit longer to hit that next goal. The opportunity cost is time in exchange for comfort and peace of mind.