Wow, tough crowd. And quite bitter. Yes, its been three whole days since I posted. I fly my butt off, fit in the volunteer work that the majors are looking for, have a 4 month old, and my wife works full time. Free time = zero.
And perhaps this is just how I do things, but applying to what could very well be the last place you ever work for and your "Free time = zero" then maybe you need to make the time for more prep work than a couple blind posts in the dark on internet forums. It will be hard to prepare yourself for something this important if you can't find the time to take an active roll in working towards it. If you don't have the time, make the time. If you aren't willing or able to make the time, than perhaps you need to reconsider if this really is the right time for you to be moving on. Getting hired on at a major carrier, or even any 121 airline for that matter honestly, requires a commitment of time on your part. Time away from home and family. Time away from things you want to do. Yes its temporary, but if you want to succeed generally it will take some sacrifice. If you can't take an hour or so a day or every other day to focus on preparing for this, maybe the time isn't right.
The G550 isnt my only experience. Its my only type rating. I was at a smaller regional for 2000 hours and didnt get typed on anything.
How long ago? Depending on when you were at a 121 carrier knowing how long you have been away may serve to provide a reference in terms of what things have changed since your previous experience and provide a reference for others to help give advice. I don't bother with APC and nothing here (and I haven't read yoir profile either, I'm just going off your three post history) tells what your experience or background is. Again, more detail can provide a greater frame of reference in terms of what advice people might give. Thanks to the 1500 hour rule every 121 FO gets a type so its obviously been a few years and information like that could help guide you towards areas of study on things that have changed since your past 121 time. But that's not something we know unless you tell us.
Let’s see what else did you guys rip me apart about...oh right, “knows nothing about the airline”...obviously I do know something, otherwise I wouldn’t have had that info to even post about.
Again, three posts of data, but the only info you have posted is that you have an interview and that prep is necessary. What do you know about American, its history, current pilot mix/makeup, typical backgrounds for similar hires, bases, retirements, etc? What do you know or don't know about the process? Specicially, what type of data are you looking for, an interview gouge, best prep company, magic password to guarentee the job?
And anyone that knows anything about the airlines knows that there are internal message boards like C&R at AA that breeds a dozen differing stories about one topic, to the point that the Administrative pilots, MEC or line pilots on property don’t even know the truth.
Ok... not too sure about this one. Sounds like you think theres a lot of misinformation, possibly intentional on AA's part, I'm not sure. Specifically, what pieces of information are you looking to validate and/or disprove? What do you know? What do you hear but not believe? What do you not know but what to know? Being specific helps.
I ask again, does anyone know anything about the topics I brought up?
Honestly, I know no one at AA or anything about their hiring process and can't tell you anything other than (like L-16B said), yes, like all airlines if bad times happen and furloughs become necessary they start at the bottom (most junior) of the seniority list. Your chances of being furloughed decrease as more pilots are hired after you, but it all depends on how many furloughs the company deems necessary. Having 2000 guys below you on the list means nothing if managment deems 2001 furloughs to be necessary.
And yes, I also posted the exact same topic on APC. I had about 10 minutes in my hotel room before I had to get rest and wanted to be as resourceful as I could in the two popular forums, as I don’t regularly look on them and had no prior reason to post. And some of you guys have made case in point why I do not.
Again to my point from earlier, this is not something you should be working on casually and only as time allows. Exhausted and at the end of a long day is not conductive to being elloquent or often even being coherent. Dropping in and posting asking about how to be successful in an interview then only coming back as time allows doesn't allow for you to take an active roll in the discussion. I'm not saying you have to sit at a computer 24/7 waiting on replies, but if all you can do is drop in and post vague requests for information then come back a few days later then perhaps seeking help from internet forums is not the best way for you to prepare for this interview.
You haven't given us much to go on. All we got from your first post was:
- I got an interview
- Know anyone that got hired there recently?
- I heard they pay less than others
- Junior pilots get furloughed first
That's not much to work with and honestly given the snarky, sarcastic, and irreverent behaviors of the typical pilot I know, you aren't gonna get much. Especially from your first post on a forum that you admit you don't regularly look at which implies you don't know much about what goes on here or how things go. To me that's like seeing a sign that says restaurant, walking in and blindly ordering the special then getting upset because the waiter brought you lobster and you're allergic to shellfish. If you knew anything about this place, you would know that like many forums there are a lot of posters that drop in once or twice then disappear never to be heard from again. Thread drift is almost competitive around here and without the original poster coming back with follow ups or additional information things devolve into quite random discussions at times, and often pretty fast. Again, keeping up with the discussion and keeping it on topic and helpful to you is a thing that will take time and effort on your part. More than just dropping in every few days with vague posts. And honestly, blindly asking a bunch of strangers on an internet forum for advice on what would to me be the interview of a lifetime probably isn't the best guarentor of success.
Or, the tl;dr version, I got bored on a long layover in Tucson and wrote a novel. Happy Turkey Day everyone!
