Caelum Deus

Getting a good flight job is tough, as we all know. But there are still optional training programs out there that us pilot can take to increase our chances of getting hired. I would like to get some input about what we can do to add some valuable ink to our resumes. So far I have come up with,
-High altitude, high performance, and tailwheel endorsements
-ATOP's 737 intro training
-Aerobatic training
-High altitude chamber training

rickair7777

It depends on what type of job you are looking for. If it's a CFI or part 91 piston job, all that stuff might help except for 737 training. I wouldn't spend money on that unless you have enough time to qualify for a 737 job.

If you are entry level, networking is going to do WAAAAY more for your job prospects than endorsements. Pretty much every 1500 hour pilot has all those endorsements anyway.

esa17

ATOPs is pretty much worthless. It's a lot of fun and the high altitude endorsement is great but you're mistaken if you think 2 hours of 737 sim time means anything to anyone. But pay the extra cash and get the high altitude endorsement out of it. The chamber training once you have the high altitude endorsement is good for your own edification but I doubt anyone cares about it.

If you're going to instruct you're going to need the high-performance endorsement.

Tailwheel shows that you can handle what can be finiky aircraft.

The best bet is some sort of upset recovery (aerobatic) training. That's you demonstrating that you can handle the aircraft at the very limit of its performance envelope and bring her safely back to earth.


The bottom line is none of those are going to be a magic bullet that gets you a job. You're going to have to put in some time networking and building that TT.

Ewfflyer

Anything you put on your resume, you better be prepared to talk about it in detail!!!!

Caelum Deus

Thanks for the reply's, but I think everyone is misunderstanding the point behind this post. Everyone has just stated "lets just do the minimum." What I'm trying to do is figure out a way to stand out during an interview. Im not saying that 121 / 135 experience and having thousands of hours isnt important, Im just saying many people are in that same boat. Let me rephrase the question. If you are interviewing with another applicant who has the same hours, and has flown the same planes, what could you have done prior to the interview in order to shine out the person?

Caelum Deus

I thought a high altitude endorsement was the "magic bullet". I went all the way to houston to get the endorsement and now you say it's useless. I really dont understand. I just submitted my application to FEDEX, and now I have lost all hope that I'll get the job. Thanks for giving me the heads up

ryan1234

What are your times/ratings/certificates if you don't mind me asking?

Hobbit64

Dispatcher?

I have a friend that was caught during the '90s furloughs and hid in the Reserves for a while. During that time, instead of sulking he added every rating to CFI that he could think of and several to his ATP.
AGI, IGI, and FE written.

Hastily written, I apologize for grammar and other errors.

Oh, yeah. He's at FedEx now.

He kept adding to his knowledge/experience and it showed he really is in it for the love of flying.

esa17

Thats what I'm curious about. If you had the time to get hired by FEDEX then why would you need to "add stuff" to your resume?

Ewfflyer

Maybe he was a freight guy flying a Shorts, or piston twin w/o pressurization? Definately possible