Sierra West???

Islanderflyer

Well-Known Member
Got an invite for an interview for a class early next year. Any info abput pay, QOL, schedules, commutable or not????
 
They called me out of the blue last week and offered me a LOT of $$$ to go back to being a Metro PIC. I said "thanks but no thanks" as I wasn't interested :)
 
They called me out of the blue last week and offered me a LOT of $$$ to go back to being a Metro PIC. I said "thanks but no thanks" as I wasn't interested :)
Define "Lot of $$$" 40k,60k,80k? I know business on the on demand 135 side has picked up recently but didn't realize there was that much demand.
 
You'll be required to relocate. The pay is around $45k for captain first year (if I remember correctly). Be prepared for looooong nights. I was offered a Metro PIC position many years ago, but declined the offer due to having to relocate to El Paso.
 
Okay I never worked there but I've had two very close friends work there (and I don't mean guys I meant once, I mean roommates that spent a lot of time there). Here's what they told me almost word for word:

1. The company is hell bent on enforcing the training contract. At my former regional employer depending upon how long you were employed and how you resigned, it was often broken with no consequences. Not at Sierra West, they will go after you for every penny and destroy your credit without batting an eyelash, so be ready to serve your term or pay it back if you leave early.

2. Maintenance is marginal at best, your pretty much expected to fly with whatever issues the a/c may have short of an engine failure. One of my friends said he felt like his was risking his tickets every time he showed up to work, welcome to the world of 135 cargo.

3. Schedule? Pretty much on call almost every day, apparently some months you may not fly all that much, other months you'll fly more. Expect 24 hour duty days overnight (think a long 135 duty day with a part 91 repo flight afterwards). You'll need to live so close to the airport you can hear it, I think callout is 30 or 45 minutes (can't remember) from phone call to wheels up.

4. Pay? I don't know, whatever they said above. At one point they had a bonus pay system so you make a few cents per mile which can add up to a couple thousand bucks each quarter. Not sure if that still exists though.

Before anyone attacks me, I'm just sharing what I've heard repeatedly. Go work there, don't work there, I don't care. I mostly heard horror stories to be honest, but at least its a lot better than regional FO pay. But then again, a lot of guys still leave there for places like RAH, Compass, Mesa, etc to get jet time. Keep that in mind and good luck.
 
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Okay I never worked there but I've had two very close friends work there (and I don't mean guys I meant once, I mean roommates that spent a lot of time there). Here's what they told me almost word for word:

1. The company is hell bent on enforcing the training contract. At my former regional employer depending upon how long you were employed and how you resigned, it was often broken with no consequences. Not at Sierra West, they will go after you for every penny and destroy your credit without batting an eyelash, so be ready to serve your term or pay it back if you leave early.

2. Maintenance is marginal at best, your pretty much expected to fly with whatever issues the a/c may have short of an engine failure. One of my friends said he felt like his was risking his tickets every time he showed up to work, welcome to the world of 135 cargo.

3. Schedule? Pretty much on call almost every day, apparently some months you may not fly all that much, other months you'll fly more. Expect 24 hour duty days overnight (think a long 135 duty day with a part 91 repo flight afterwards). You'll need to live so close to the airport you can hear it, I think callout is 30 or 45 minutes (can't remember) from phone call to wheels up.

4. Pay? I don't know, whatever they said above. At one point they had a bonus pay system so you make a few cents per mile which can add up to a couple thousand bucks each quarter. Not sure if that still exists though.

Before anyone attacks me, I'm just shared what I've heard repeatedly. Go work there, don't work there, I don't care. I mostly heard horror stories to be honest, but at least its a lot better than regional FO pay. But then again, a lot of guys still leave there for places like RAH, Compass, Mesa, etc to get jet time. Keep that in mind and good luck.
Pretty good assessment. I spent 1.5 years there in the right seat and it was rough. The only people that I suggest go to SWA are guys with 350-600 TT to help them get some good WX experience, some multi time and get a feel for what they don't want in a career. Guys who are reaching 135 mins I would suggest going somewhere else. I think the CA pay now is about 36K and more if you have experience. FO pay starts at 18k and if you go to the Lear or Falcon you get bumped up to a massive 20K. 6 days off a month ( usually in a row ) with the odd benefit of being in CASS.
 
Pretty good assessment. I spent 1.5 years there in the right seat and it was rough. The only people that I suggest go to SWA are guys with 350-600 TT to help them get some good WX experience, some multi time and get a feel for what they don't want in a career. Guys who are reaching 135 mins I would suggest going somewhere else. I think the CA pay now is about 36K and more if you have experience. FO pay starts at 18k and if you go to the Lear or Falcon you get bumped up to a massive 20K. 6 days off a month ( usually in a row ) with the odd benefit of being in CASS.
Is Kama still there? She made it so worth it. :)
 
They called me last year about this time and wanted me to come in for an interview. A week went by with no communication so I called and left a message. I haven't heard from them since...weird.
 
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