what's wrong with great lakes?

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dpilot83

New Member
what\'s wrong with great lakes?

I'm thinking Great Lakes might look like a good place for future employment but I don't hear a lot good about it here on the forums. That makes me a little uncomfortable pursuing a job there but they are one of the first places I could get hired at as far as multi time is concerned and I haven't heard very specific reasons not to fly for them. Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks.
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

I am no expert, but my guess would be that they have pretty low QOL, which is probably why many people rag on them. Hate to compare it to PFT, but it is sort of in that same boat (the same "lake" would probably be a better term, especially considering the pun, which was not intended). Again, I am no expert; this is just the impression that I have gotten from others.
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

Another non-expert here but I believe the reason people rag on Great Lakes is because it's very long hours/lots of flying for very little pay and they have you sign a contract locking you in for so long.

If you're single and enjoy being out on the road, then I say have at it and get 121 experience.

The QOL doesn't seem to allow for a strong home life ... so I've heard.
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

15 month contract or 7500$$$ to leave the contract early

Terrible QOL

Great Pilot group

Decent time for upgrade
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

I'm not familiar with them. How does it work and are they getting into PFT territory? 15 months seems like a long time to be locked into a contract. You could get a lot of instructing hours and probably learn more during that time.
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

I mentioned it was in the same "lake" as PFT because it isn't, but the low pay and QOL perhaps make some people think that other pilots shouldn't take jobs there until they start raising the pay and QOL.
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

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You could get a lot of instructing hours and probably learn more during that time.

[/ QUOTE ]

One could also be getting a lot of 121, multi time/experience during that time
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Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You could get a lot of instructing hours and probably learn more during that time.

[/ QUOTE ]

One could also be getting a lot of 121, multi time/experience during that time
tongue.gif


[/ QUOTE ]


Not worth it.

Their pay is below the poverty line. What a self respecting job that is?
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

since when does instructing pay better and have higher qol than lakes???

not to mention like one of the biggest goals of instructing is trying to get enough multi time to qualify for an airline.
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

I have a friend who has been flying at Great Lakes for about three months now and he likes it. For the two years before being hired at Great Lakes he worked as an instructor. He says the pay is lower than he'd like, but he likes getting to hand fly the planes, the possibility of a fast upgrade to captain, and just doing something different than bumping around in a C-152 all day. It's all a matter of perspective.
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You could get a lot of instructing hours and probably learn more during that time.

[/ QUOTE ]

One could also be getting a lot of 121, multi time/experience during that time
tongue.gif


[/ QUOTE ]


Not worth it.

Their pay is below the poverty line. What a self respecting job that is?

[/ QUOTE ]

If you're doing what you love to do, getting lots of 121 multi/turbine experience, and willing to work your butt off to get someplace quickly, what's bad about it?
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

So far I'm hearing kinda what I expected. I'm agreeing with those that say the pay can't be much worse than flight instruction. However, I don't think I know how much ppl get payed at Great Lakes. At my current position I think I'd be hard pressed to make much over 10K a year flight instructing and that just doesn't pay the bills.
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

[ QUOTE ]
since when does instructing pay better and have higher qol than lakes???

[/ QUOTE ]

Skymates CFIs get a $1 more an hour than GL, and they're home every night. That's not counting per diem that GL gets (not sure what it is). However, after factoring that per diem and eating out on the road vs shopping at Sam's and eating at home, my guess is that CFIs will still come out ahead on the $$$ dept. About the only thing I can say positive about GL is quick upgrades and it's turbine. Then again, everyone had to make their own decision. If I was living with my parents or family in Denver, I'd probably think about it. Since I'm married with a kid, I don't wanna put my wife and child through that.
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

i make more throwing bags at skywest at DEN than their FOs make flying Beech 1900s. someone posted a typical 8-day line for a low-seniority ZK pilot. QOL is terrible. training is the hardest in the industry. they have a great pilot group over there, though. you'd have to have a lot of money in reserve or a spouse with a decent income to make their pay livable while doing 8-day trips.
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

The reason people go to Lakes is to upgrade.Its anywhere from 8-12 months.Its a good place to build time and move on.
 
Re: what\'s wrong with great lakes?

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Remeber folks $$$$$$$ isn't everything!

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If you got into the industry for the cash, it certainly is . . .
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