Morbid curiosity. Upgrade times?

I waited for some time to upgrade too(13 years). Some of it was not my fault and some because I cherished my QOL being based at home and not wanting to commute. My family comes 1st. That’s why I waited for an upgrade that was in my home base. Friends from my class decided to upgrade a few years before me and were commuting to reserve in JFK and BOS. I’d rather take a rusty nail and hammer it through my hand. Yes they made more financially than I did but to me money isn’t everything(yes it’s important). I also agree that those podcast hosts are not seeing the whole picture clearly.
 
The only thing giving me pause about waiting is my age. Only have about 16.5 years left and don’t want to get stuck in the right seat as the result of a merger or another black swan event. Plus sick time pays more in the left seat. There is also the admittedly emotional reason of wanting my Dad to be alive to see me upgrade and maybe come along for a ride (which he was never able to do when I was at Walmart).

The big item in the con column are the lengthy commute to weekend reserve.. which is where your rusty nail and hammer come in.
 
ZapBrannigan said:
The only thing giving me pause about waiting is my age. Only have about 16.5 years left and don’t want to get stuck in the right seat as the result of a merger or another black swan event. Plus sick time pays more in the left seat. There is also the admittedly emotional reason of wanting my Dad to be alive to see me upgrade and maybe come along for a ride (which he was never able to do when I was at Walmart).

The big item in the con column are the lengthy commute to weekend reserve.. which is where your rusty nail and hammer come in.
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How far off is a better base?
 
It’s definitely a tough call, as I can easily see hanging out in the right seat and enjoying QOL for awhile.

On our last bid (FDX), I put in for OAK 76 CA and then just MEM 76 FO. I really didn’t think I’d get the captain award, it was a bit of a YOLO. Surprisingly, I did get it and will start training right at my 4 year anniversary on property.

I will probably have reserve for awhile, but it looks like I’ll have enough folks behind me after all the training is done for this bid to have a secondary line. Should be a lot of deadheads with this base, so hopefully the commute is mostly painless.
 
ZapBrannigan said:
The only thing giving me pause about waiting is my age. Only have about 16.5 years left and don’t want to get stuck in the right seat as the result of a merger or another black swan event. Plus sick time pays more in the left seat. There is also the admittedly emotional reason of wanting my Dad to be alive to see me upgrade and maybe come along for a ride (which he was never able to do when I was at Walmart).

The big item in the con column are the lengthy commute to weekend reserve.. which is where your rusty nail and hammer come in.
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You need to look at that from the opposite perspective of age too.

There comes a point where you're too old to make the transition to being a captain. I've flown with a few guys who upgraded after 60 for the first time in their careers and it was...an interesting experience.
 
The only thing I wish I would have done differently is wish I spent more time with the kid.

I pretty much came to the same conclusion that after a certain age, I really don’t want to spend time as a junior in status commuting and sharing a crashpad with other pilots and flight attendants.

You can always check the box be a captain for a little then downgrade back to FO for the QoL.
 
woodreau said:
The only thing I wish I would have done differently is wish I spent more time with the kid.

I pretty much came to the same conclusion that after a certain age, I really don’t want to spend time as a junior in status commuting and sharing a crashpad with other pilots and flight attendants.

You can always check the box be a captain for a little then downgrade back to FO for the QoL.
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I assume a ridiculously small portion of pilots would go back to the right seat after jumping through all the hoops to upgrade. We’re brainwashed to think that things will get better “next month” or “next bid” etc etc.
 
Can you upgrade at United right after the 1 year mark on a NB? Curious if this is still feasible and if it will last.
 
ajm757 said:
Can you upgrade at United right after the 1 year mark on a NB? Curious if this is still feasible and if it will last.
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By the time that you graduate high school and finish your primary flight training and instruct and start at a regional. Probably one of the United Aviate partners. Things would have possibly drastically changed in terms of upgrade and senority. Vs. today's snap shot. United is having weekly classes for the foreseeable future, all those numbers would be above you. Upgrading with only 1 yr. on property IMO right now, is for people already at the front of the wave. You probably have 3-4 yrs. before you actually have the times to apply to a legacy.
 
But I’m already in the Big Leagues. Not aware of everything going on in the industry. Are you a United pilot?
 
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Maximilian_Jenius said:
High school can definitely be considered the big leagues. You're all the more closer to entering into the real world. Your bodies changing, you're growing hair that wasn't there before. Your voice is changing and you still hopefully haven't reached your peak yet. Hopefully. Enjoy these times of your youth, when you have the world by the balls so to speak. Don't rush things, stay focused. Graduate high school. Flight training and the regionals will still be there.
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Just stop feeding the troll
 
ajm757 said:
No trolling whatsoever. I asked a simple question that needs to be answered
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I’ll answer it. Upgrades are not at a year.

So, in the Delta vs. United thread you mentioned you got a CJO at one and a TBNT at the other. You are not at United, so you must be at Delta?
 
MikeFavinger said:
I’ll answer it. Upgrades are not at a year.

So, in the Delta vs. United thread you mentioned you got a CJO at one and a TBNT at the other. You are not at United, so you must be at Delta?
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Ok so if there not at 1 year, are they at 1.5 year?
 
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