Why Mesaba isn't hiring you.

I would imagine it is only another year or two before the fabulous Mesaba is taking people with a wet multi and mirror fogging skills.

I would imagine it is only another year or two (or three) before we start furloughing people. That's the way the cycle works... it just so happens that XJ is on an offset cycle from every other airline. When everybody else was hiring, Mesaba was in the ####hole.

...btw, we were taking people w/ a wet multi and mirror fogging skills a year ago... right now we're taking people with 121/135 experience by far more than others without (75% to 25%, roughly... i believe the class of eight that started yesterday includes four 121 and two 135 pilots, straight from their instructor's mouth), contrary to what the complainers want you to believe... please, argue with me about that.
 
Everybody run out and get that 4 year degree so you can pull down 18k a year on a turboprop or a barbie jet.

I have better advice. If you have a degree outside aviation that is worth a damn, then use it outside aviation. You will more than likely make more money in the long run. If you don't have a degree and that is the only thing keeping you from getting a job at some crappy regional, then wait a year or so. I would imagine it is only another year or two before the fabulous Mesaba is taking people with a wet multi and mirror fogging skills.

College degrees are wayyyyyy over rated in this profession. You can and will get jobs without them.

Let the flaming commence.
Hehe. Alright alright. No one needs to go get a degree right away.

God this is maddening. There are many things they are looking for don't go get a degree or regret u don't have an aviation degree.

These are things that I was told and I put them under "biggy" because they were the first things out the HR person's mouth. That is it.

I banged out the list quick and I should of taken more time to write it. I apologize. I was so excited that I finally got an answer I just blasted it out there. You guys are literally killing me. I'm dieing inside... kinda like when I watched the two girls and a cup video.
 
He asked, I'm not trying to brag, but a sarcastic comment was really not necessary. If you think I'm satisfied with driving 207s around then you've got another thing coming, this is just a stepping stone. I'm intent on going places, and so is everybody else in aviation I run into, just because you're not satisfied with where you're at doesn't mean you have to take it out on me.

Sarcastic comment?

Come on man, lay off the "Be on Defense 100%" pill.

I'm also greatly delighted to know that someone I've never met is able to tell I'm not satisfied in my current position. You want to talk about sarcastic comments?
 
College degrees are wayyyyyy over rated in this profession. You can and will get jobs without them.


Unless your goal is Delta.....

I agree at the regional level, the degree thing is overblown. But, with fewer mainline job on the horizon, it's gonna get pretty competitive out there. The degree might make you stand out. If the majors start using degrees as a way to separate people the way SWA does with 737 types, then there are a lot of guys that are gonna be left without a chair when the music stops. I can name a LOT of guys at Pinnacle that missed the boat to FedEx b/c they didn't have a degree.
 
So be it. . .bummer, and it sucks. . .but I'm doing everything in my power to be able to check as many boxes are required at the various companies I'd be happy at for the majority of my aviation career.

I won't shed a tear for someone who wants to go to a major, and lacks a degree, and wonders why they are not getting a job handed to them.

But - that does go with saying that there are obvious exceptions; President's children, Middle-Level managers' children, etc.
 
30 years ago I would have said "hell yeah get that degree or whatever else the legacies want. Now... not so much. I don't see the logic in fighting so hard for so little. The legacies are not worth shelling out 60k for flight training and 120k for a Riddle degree just so one day you can finally get hired at American and sit right seat on reserve for 15 years. The pay in the U.S is a joke and it makes my blood boil to see eager intelligent young guy or girls suffer so horribly financially for peanuts.

I am out of the U.S flying market. To the guys at my former airline, enjoy the bump. I will happily make 2 or 3 times more with better schedules and work rules outside the U.S.

I am all for getting a degree as a backup plan. I however have no plans to work for anyone other than myself when I choose to leave this profession.
 
30 years ago I would have said "hell yeah get that degree or whatever else the legacies want. Now... not so much. I don't see the logic in fighting so hard for so little. The legacies are not worth shelling out 60k for flight training and 120k for a Riddle degree just so one day you can finally get hired at American and sit right seat on reserve for 15 years. The pay in the U.S is a joke and it makes my blood boil to see eager intelligent young guy or girls suffer so horribly financially for peanuts.


I agree a degree from Riddle is mad expensive, but at least get something to check the box. Even if it's a liberal arts degree from the local college, and if that costs $60-120K, well the US education system is more broken than I thought.

If I were just getting into this a year ago, I wouldn't. It's too expensive now for the ROI. I'd go back to pushing buttons on theme park rides.
 
I agree a degree from Riddle is mad expensive, but at least get something to check the box. Even if it's a liberal arts degree from the local college, and if that costs $60-120K, well the US education system is more broken than I thought.

If I were just getting into this a year ago, I wouldn't. It's too expensive now for the ROI. I'd go back to pushing buttons on theme park rides.

I agree with the wolf here. Colleges these days are just impossibly expensive and flying is even moreso. When I went to Riddle I had a scholarship, job, flying was 60-67 bucks an hour and credit hours costs were half what were two years ago. Going to Riddle and flying was still cheaper for me than UMASS (in state tuition) and flying at the local FBO on the same equipment.
 
My in-state (full price) engineering degree cost me around 40k. Hardly cheap, but a hell of a lot less than this 120k plus degree that people all talk about.
 
My in-state (full price) engineering degree cost me around 40k. Hardly cheap, but a hell of a lot less than this 120k plus degree that people all talk about.
40K. Jesus, I miss the mid-90s when a state degree was like $10K if that. I think I was paying about $1K a semester for a full class load AND housing. I know a full class load at Mississippi State in 1993 was about the same as one CLASS from ERAU online today.
 
I was being conservative I guess. It might have been more like 30k

5 years ago when I started a full load for a semester was 2,500 or so, now its over 4k. I did 4k/semester times 5 years.

They like to rack up the tuition to pay for the state deficit.:banghead:
Tuition hikes of 20% are the norm right now.
 
I might also challenge that most of us don't necessarily get our degrees FOR aviation, or for anything related to aviation.

My degree isn't for aviation in the sense that the education will allow me to become a better pilot. No, rather, my education is for the improved odds of being hired at a respectable company later on in life. If not, then the degree will be utilized for other professional means.

It's all about personal reasons, of which, I don't think any one of us should analyze someone's reasons for earning a degree or not.

But, I think that those of us who have a degree, when encountering those who don't have a degree and they are complaining about not being where they want - then - we can analyze their attitudes towards career progression.
 
I was being conservative I guess. It might have been more like 30k

5 years ago when I started a full load for a semester was 2,500 or so, now its over 4k. I did 4k/semester times 5 years.

They like to rack up the tuition to pay for the state deficit.:banghead:
Tuition hikes of 20% are the norm right now.

My Engineering degree was probably 30-40k as well but I got pretty lucky and work a full time engineering job that allows me to bid reserve and collect my 75 hour guarantee while we are slow. They only call 2-3 times a month right now and my boss is understanding. At my engineering company, it's more about getting projects done than punching the clock every day.

Personally, I think having a degree is great for a backup and but more importantly to be a more educated person in general. Education is education and it's unfortunate that people will only go to school if they are going to be payed directly for it. That being a smarter, and more educated person in life is not a reward in itself? Should people not go to high school because a high school diploma can't earn you any more money and those kids that drop out in the ninth grade and work fast food full time? Education is important, and a backup career is not a bad thing despite what some people on this forum might think.

All this is just my opinion but I do know this, my Engineering degree allow s me to make more money than I would as an RJ captain plus I still get paid for being an FO. It's true that some degrees without experience don't account for a lot but that is not to say they are worthless. I am proof of that. I am not bragging at all, just saying that for those of you that want a backup, you are not wasting your time. The key you have to ask yourself is what kind of entry level jobs are out there for my degree. It varies; business degrees have some but not great entry level, history probably none, and even math probably none. Engineering was something I liked and had good starting pay right out of college with no experience. Some degrees do and some don't but that doesn't mean all degrees are worthless unless they land you a job at the airline of your dreams. Anyway.... But that's just what I think.
 
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't have a back-up. I'm just saying that too many people make the assumption or give the impression that if you get a degree in something other than aviation you're gonna be set in case of a furlough because you have a "backup degree." Everyone should have an escape route, but if your escape route means getting a degree in something you hate, it's not worth it since you probably won't finish the degree. Heaven help you if you actually have to use the back up plan because you'll be a miserable wretch working in a field you don't like.

You got an engineering degree b/c you enjoy it. Worked out well for you. For me, that would be agonizing, and I probably would have dropped out from burn out. My interests lie in history, literature and music. Those degrees are about as useful as aviation when it comes to a fall back. Sure, I could major in business management or accounting (or even any of those other degrees that scroll on the screen while Sally Struthers blathers on, but I digress), but finishing a degree in those fields would be like working a full time job to me. Knowing I had that as a fall back would make me miserable. Odds are I'd cling to whatever else I could find rather than using the degree, thus defeating the whole purpose of majoring in that field.

My stance has always been get a degree in a field you enjoy. If it happens to work out that it's got a decent job market attatched to it, great. If not, at least you can check the box. People are just more likely to see something they like through to the finish than grind away at something they hate.
 
I have a friend that just interviewed today and said he thinks they're looking for CFI's. I'm pretty much equally qualified as him minus the CFI and he's got the sim portion of the interview to go and I got the "no thanks" email. I honestly can't understand it unless it's the CFI thing.
 
Very well might be the CFI thing. Even with previous 121 experience, they might value the CFI experience a little bit more.

Tough world out there now.
 
Wanted to get everyones attention all at once, forgive the title of the thread. I've had a lot of emails/phone calls about the hiring process and wanted to try and hit everyone at once.

Anything written in here comes from me, not directly from HR, I've asked some questions for people who are asking me and I'm answering as best I can. Remember you may have phrased the question to me differently than I asked it because I'm trying to hit a lot of people at once.

First off, YES, there are people in HR, it isn't a myth :nana2:.

Big question I get is: "Why can't I update my times on Mesaba"
Answer: HR is completely swamped and they disabled that update function because they can't review every two days when folks update their times. Basically, her words not mine, "if you don't have the time you shouldn't be applying", if later you get the time they will eventually get to you. Unfortunately some of you applied early (probably at my urging as well as many others) so just send an email update and they'll update you when they get time. Beechpilot (Andy) you are taken care of, I made sure they have your current stuff.

OK, the other question, "I have 700-1500 hours why don't they look at me when my student gets hired with no time."
Answer: (this sucks I know) Mesaba looks at time as one of twenty criteria. To be quite frank, time at this point time just gets your resume looked at. They are researching...
-driving record (apparently a biggy)
-employment history (biggy)
-how much are you flying
-how often (biggy) (seems like that should be the same as "how much" but I'm just relaying the answers)
-what type
-do you have a 4 year degree and they want to see it in aviation related stuff (biggy) (I feel an "I told you so" coming on)
-there were some more but I've already got them slipping out of my head

If you have applied and been told "no" then you do not fit into the Mesaba picture right now. Maybe in the future and I mean that in the nicest way possible and so does HR. They have an idea what they are looking for and they want them first. Also getting the interview isn't the same as it used to be. It used to be "You've got the job now come in and don't f it up", I'm being told they are weeding people out in the interview.

Is 121 time preferred?
Answer: It helps, it is not preferred.

Hope I've been helpful. Hope no ones feelings are hurt. This is how HR is rolling right now, it sucks for some of you I know, and if it sours your view of Mesaba then this place probably isn't for you right now. Hopefully in the future. If you haven't got a letter yet about trying again later then just be patient.

Thanks all. If you have further questions please PM. I'll do the best I can to get them answered.

Or maybe the appplicant is not a UND alum?
 
Like I said before, unless the reason why they are not hiring someone is somehow pertinent to you and you can change rapidly ('They don't hire people with ungroomed hair', 'They dont hire someone who seems like an #######', etc.) then there is no real point. I can't go out and get a different degree and neither can anyone else, at least in time to affect their current hiring decisions. So you should just submit your application and hope for the best.
 
Back
Top