• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

FTS APP

webmaster

The Grass is Greener!
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
Another issue I've heard airline guys who are established at their airline is that the earning potential, even if it's for a ~270-365 day MOB, is greatly reduced if they play Navy. If they're already making $X, why take the pain AND earn less than $X. I'm not saying that's right or wrong, but just a serious consideration for many.
I think @e6bflyer had a really good post on opportunity costs, may have mistaken on who wrote the post. While that post applied to getting out vs. staying in, I think it also has some merit talking about how much you can make just flying the line versus going on a mobilization. IDK, I think it is an easier decision now that first year pay has gone up significantly at AA (from $40 an hour to $75!), and that is very similar to Delta, UA, SWA and FEDEX. Makes it easier to survive the pay disparity after getting out of the military. But the system seems ideally designed for those that are drilling once a month, especially with how a junior guy can exploit the system to get weekends off, and arrange their schedule by dropping mil leave. I have been pretty impressed with how some of my peers have taken advantage of the system to get the most pay and best quality of life. Then again, they also commute, so their priority is reducing time at the crashpad. :rolleyes: Whereas mine is maximizing my time off hanging out at the beach or pool. :cool:

You do have the protection of federal law though WRT to mob's though, that is what I am trying to emphasize.
I understand that, and sure go on MOB, take those orders. But be aware that you may be extending your probation one for one. And be aware that you could be setting yourself up for a trip back through the school house (training risks, etc). It's naïve to think that if the company wanted to fire you during probation since someone is being a douche nozzle that they couldn't do it. My point being, you are an at will employee, understand the target you may or may not be putting on yourself during your probation. The guy or gal that gets hired, goes through initial training, doesn't get consolidated, goes on 1 year MOB orders, come back clueless about company procedures and the plane they were initially trained in, goes BACK through training, and what if they hook an event? Now you opened up your whole history to being looked at. They can't fire you for the MOB, but they could let you go for other reasons, and they DO. I think we have had ~15 new hires fired this year due to training, attitude, etc... Union tries to get involved and help, but at a certain point in the process they can't help.

My over arching comment and why I weighed in, as a newhire at any of the airlines, you just won the lottery, and have a multimillion dollar job of career earnings. Where you have been hired at the fore front of what will be a sustained hiring wave that should give everyone at UA, Delta, etc a very good career (knock on wood). Minimize risks where possible to that new job and make it through probation, why extend it?
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Another issue I've heard airline guys who are established at their airline is that the earning potential, even if it's for a ~270-365 day MOB, is greatly reduced if they play Navy. If they're already making $X, why take the pain AND earn less than $X. I'm not saying that's right or wrong, but just a serious consideration for many.

That isn't just for airline guys but a lot of folks, especially in private industry but government too.
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I think @e6bflyer had a really good post on opportunity costs, may have mistaken on who wrote the post. While that post applied to getting out vs. staying in, I think it also has some merit talking about how much you can make just flying the line versus going on a mobilization....

I haven't gotten around to a response to that but I think he makes a lot of mistaken assumptions in his post, at least from a reserve perspective.

I understand that, and sure go on MOB, take those orders. But be aware that you may be extending your probation one for one. And be aware that you could be setting yourself up for a trip back through the school house (training risks, etc)....

I think we are getting too far off from what I originally tried to address, specifically "Most of them are newly hired airline pilots who are worried if their job will still be there when they get back. Yeah, I know... Federal laws and all... but we know how that actually works out in the real world." From my experience, not the case at all.

My over arching comment and why I weighed in, as a newhire at any of the airlines, you just won the lottery, and have a multimillion dollar job of career earnings. Where you have been hired at the fore front of what will be a sustained hiring wave that should give everyone at UA, Delta, etc a very good career (knock on wood). Minimize risks where possible to that new job and make it through probation, why extend it?

I disagree that discounting joining the reserves though should be part of 'minimizing risks', if you are less than 10 years from retirement it could be well worth the time and effort to stick with it, especially with the retirement.
 

webmaster

The Grass is Greener!
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
Well then, you have a higher risk threshold than I do. And a lot of my peers do also as evidenced by their mil leave requests. But the vast majority of them run short term orders under 60 days so they don't extend their probation and avoid trips back through the school house. While other outliers also have gotten hired and their seniority number and went back into the military on orders to wait it out for a couple years to build more seniority, get closer to retirement, and hopefully have a better bid status when they come back. I never said to "discount the reserves", I said be aware of what additional risks you may be opening yourself up to. Case in point, my partner in training didn't realize he was extending his probation when he took orders, so now he has to contend with that. At least be informed.
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
...I never said to "discount the reserves", I said be aware of what additional risks you may be opening yourself up to. Case in point, my partner in training didn't realize he was extending his probation when he took orders, so now he has to contend with that. At least be informed.

It wasn't directed at you! ;) But yes, always beware of the risks no matter what you do or join. But you don't have to worry about that, you already got yours! :)
 

BrittO

Registered User
pilot
Well I got a slot!.. Does anybody here know if you get to know the options available within the beach you were selected for before giving them the final yes/no
 

Gainful

Member
pilot
I think you have to commit before they will tell you what's on offer. I knew a guy last year who turned it down because they couldn't/wouldn't promise him a Hornet squadron.

Congrats btw. I'm right there with you.
 

BrittO

Registered User
pilot
I know they won't tell you where you would go before you accept but would they even say these are the slots available.. Only 4 of us got VFA/C this board.. There are only 4 possible squadrons.. Not sure if all have openings.
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
I guess things have changed, but when I got selected, I was called by the CO of the squadron I was selected for. I know you VFA/C guys have more options than we did, but I guess the question is: how were you notified.

I ask because I know of another person that was selected for "Helo," and thought they were going to a specific command, but then the plan changed on them and they were sent elsewhere (another helo squadron in a different community and location). And oh the stories I could tell...but I digress.
 

Gainful

Member
pilot
Well we were 'notified' in the way that most people are these days in the Navy: going to the FTS redes website and hitting refresh until the results showed up.

@BrittO: I know 111 has openings according to a JO buddy of mine there. It sounds like Fallon might have at least one slot as well. The VFA slots are harder to come by normally, but I'm hoping they both have at least one available.
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
Well we were 'notified' in the way that most people are these days in the Navy: going to the FTS redes website and hitting refresh until the results showed up.

Gotcha. That came out fast. Congrats!
 
Top