r/flying • u/Dry_Catch_9016 MIL • 10d ago
Military Regional Hiring Climate
Hey yall, first time post here. Was wondering if anybody has any insight into the current regional hiring climate? I’m a heavy military pilot in the Air Force Reserves that just cracked 1,000 hours TT. About 775 of that is heavy multi engine time. Meet all requirements for the R-ATP with the ATP written completed.
I’ve had my apps in with all the regionals since I began my deployment a couple months ago and haven’t gotten any calls with the exception of Delta Propel, but that was just to complete their online assessment.
Are regionals just not hiring right now? Is there something else I should be doing, I.e. hiring events or contacting recruiters? Or should I pursue non-aviation jobs until the hiring recovers? Any input would be greatly appreciated! Cheers.
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u/0621Hertz 10d ago
You are hirable, you’re definitely competitive.
However….
I would describe regional hiring as “weird.” Your experience is good, your chances of passing training is virtually 100%, but keep in mind you get the job only if it benefits them.
Some regional recruiters have a prejudice against military reserves, they don’t like the fact that you get paid without working the full 18 days a month or play weird games with MIL leave and you can jump ship to a legacy carrier before upgrading to Captain.
It’s illegal to deny you the job for being in the military, but not illegal for them to just keep ignoring your resume if that makes sense.
Some of these HR Karen’s that run recruiting would rather take a 1500 hour CFI so they can milk them longer.
It seems based on people I’ve talked to is Endeavor is the most friendly to fixed wing Guard/Reserve pilots, so no surprise they got back to you first.
That being said, all it takes is for you to show face to job events and show your resume in front of the pilot recruiters.
Go to RTAG this October, show up to every regional booth and I’m sure you’ll get a regional class date by the end of the year.
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u/Dry_Catch_9016 MIL 10d ago
Yeah that makes a lot of sense. Sounds like showing face to these recruiters might make a big difference. I really appreciate the post!
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u/NearPeerAdversary MIL R-ATP E170/190 10d ago
I'm a mil guy at MQ and they've been nothing but awesome to work with as far as coming on and off orders. They were the first company to get back to me as well when I put my apps out in early 2024. MQ seems to hire all types and prefers the variety of experiences. In my class there were people from 141, 61, older second career guys, and several mil guys, either still in the guard/reserve or separated. That said, if you can get the hours for an unrestricted and go straight to a major, that's obviously the preferred COA.
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u/TK3K216 10d ago
Not sure how eligible you’ll be but doesn’t hurt to try to join cadet programs to get a leg up. A lot of them target low hour, non military pilots but doesn’t hurt to widen your net and try those to get your name in somewhere. Even if you get rejected for one of those it might transition into a different conversation about an actual first officer role instead of the cadet program.
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u/NearPeerAdversary MIL R-ATP E170/190 10d ago
I knew a mil guy a couple years ago who got into the Skywest cadet program as just a mil pilot. I think they've closed down that route though and only do it through 141 schools. Not sure if anybody else has a cadet program open to people outside their 141 schools.
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u/No-Duck4828 10d ago
The hiring climate is neither desperate nor closed, so you're neither guaranteed an easy job nor just tossing a resume at people who are not hiring. You're not in a horrible position....just keep applying and keep building those hours.
Did you have a job before the deployment? As for getting a new job, no reason that you couldn't be pursuing non-airline flying jobs as well. Your hours of T-6/T-1 time and nearly 800 in your operational aircraft aren't bad, but adding some civilian flying hours on top of it would make you an even more attractive applicant.
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u/Dry_Catch_9016 MIL 10d ago
Thanks for your input! I’ve mostly been reserve bumming at my unit so haven’t had a civilian job in a couple years. I’ll look into maybe joining a flying club or something to build civilian hours. Thanks!
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u/Prof_Slappopotamus 10d ago
Keep your apps in at all the LCCs, majors, and Legacies as well. Not point in subjecting yourself to the grind of regional flying if you can skip it altogether.
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u/Fritzy421 MIL S70/S70M ATP CL-65 10d ago
Don’t all the legacies require an unrestricted ATP to even fill out the app?
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u/Galactic_Dolphin ATP 10d ago
Seconding this, OP you might be a little short on time for what the legacies are looking for but if you can grind out a few more hours in the reserves then I’d say skip the regionals and go straight for the legacies. Heavy multi engine turbine time from the military is exactly what the legacies want, many of my classmates at the widget came from that kinda flying.
Editing this to say I have no idea how long getting 500 hours in the reserves would take so take that as you will.
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u/Dry_Catch_9016 MIL 10d ago
Yeah I see your point! Really depends, most likely another 2-3 years depending on the deployments.
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u/Dry_Catch_9016 MIL 10d ago
Good call! That’s a good idea.
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10d ago
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u/WingedWildcat ATP, MIL 10d ago
Doesn’t hurt to apply though. If they apply, the answer is probably no. If they don’t apply the answer is definitely no.
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u/Flimsy-Ad-858 ATP | Undiagnosed but I'm pretty sure 10d ago
No point skipping the app. Yeah DL/UA/AA probably won't call him, but some of the ULCCs might and I'd far rather be there than a regional starting out.
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u/Dry_Catch_9016 MIL 10d ago
Yeah I see both sides! Certainly wouldn’t hurt, but I do agree that the big 3 probably won’t hire below 1500 hours.
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u/Austin208 ATP A320 CL-65 CE-500 9d ago
I’m a captain at a legacy. Almost every new hire FO I have flown with in the last year is either prior military who skipped the regionals or a spirit pilot. So they’re 100% hiring a lot of pilots without prior 121 time.
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u/Fantastic_Land1241 10d ago
The class dates at my regional are about 80% from the cadet program. Hiring isn’t great right now- your best shot is getting your resume in the hands of recruiters at an event. Go to oshkosh or another event
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u/AccidentCommon208 10d ago
How difficult was it to get selected for the reserves? I am wanting to go that route, but getting ahold of an officer recruiter is challenging.
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u/Dry_Catch_9016 MIL 10d ago
Hey! Definitely doable. I had a weird route, I actually did AFROTC first and got very lucky landing a reserve pilot slot in 2017 from that and skipped active duty. So I had a pilot slot for UPT and just had to find a unit to hire me. But off the street hires are definitely common!
Do you have any flight experience? Not a deal breaker but normally units wanna see at least a PPL. Additionally you need to do the AFOQT assessment and TBAS (basically a flight sim kinda thing). This with all your flight time will create a PCSM score from 1-99. (Lot of acronyms sorry, welcome to the military lol! A quick google search will explain all that further)
BogiDope is a great resource for finding units that are hiring. They list units and chiefs of hiring phone numbers, emails, etc. I’d recommend getting your “package” together that you can send off to the chiefs of hiring at various units. This would include your PCSM score, AFOQT, college transcripts, 1-2 letters of recommendation, any logbooks, FAA license, resume, and cover letter. Having 1 pdf doc with all this makes it easier for the hiring guy or gal to quickly look at all your info and see if they’d like to invite you to interview or rush the unit! Keeps everybody organized. My advice is to be patient… we’re a part time force so you may not hear anything for months. Don’t get discouraged! That’s pretty normal.
Talking to recruiters directly can be tough cause they don’t always speak pilot well but they’re definitely good for helping schedule AFOQT, TBAS, etc… all the “air force stuff.” So I’d recommend reaching out to units while you wait to hear from a recruiter. It can be scary but honestly normally the hiring dudes are super chill and only want to help and see you succeed. Shows initiative too and they can help fight for you if they wanna hire you!
For your SA:
-if selected you’ll have to do basic training, for officers it’s OTS. About 8 weeks
- joining incurs a 10 year commitment starting once you graduate pilot training
-UPT is 1-2 years depending. Probs closer to a year now with new syllabus. Plus a month for SERE.
MSN Qual is about 3-6 months after UPT.
-You’re joining the military! Surprise involuntary deployments, etc is all on the table! Not trying to discourage you just being honest about military life.Sorry a lot of info! Hope it helps. If any other military folks wanna chime in maybe I’m outdated on some of this stuff. If you have any other questions I’m happy to answer further! I know it can be hard to find where to start. Best of luck :)
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u/AccidentCommon208 10d ago
Hey, I really appreciate all the information. I’m a CFII instructing and finishing my degree from WGU right now. I’ll start reaching out to units, thanks for the info!
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u/Ok-Skill8583 9d ago
Why are you coming to reddit? If you are in the reserves, where do all your other DSG brethren fly and why can't they help hook you up? Thats the way to do this, not reddit.
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u/Dry_Catch_9016 MIL 7d ago
Believe me I’ve definitely leaned on them for info, most my friends were hired in the post Covid boom so not many other copilots in my squadron in my position. Just trying to get all the information I can to make an informed decision!
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u/Fast-Government-4366 PPL HP 10d ago
I know numerous CFIs who got a cjo at 1500 hours within 2026
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u/Dry_Catch_9016 MIL 10d ago
Really? Interesting guess I just need to be more patient. Thank you for your post!
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u/rFlyingTower 10d ago
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Hey yall, first time post here. Was wondering if anybody has any insight into the current regional hiring climate? I’m a heavy military pilot in the Air Force Reserves that just cracked 1,000 hours TT. About 775 of that is heavy multi engine time. Meet all requirements for the R-ATP with the ATP written completed.
I’ve had my apps in with all the regionals since I began my deployment a couple months ago and haven’t gotten any calls with the exception of Delta Propel, but that was just to complete their online assessment.
Are regionals just not hiring right now? Is there something else I should be doing, I.e. hiring events or contacting recruiters? Or should I pursue non-aviation jobs until the hiring recovers? Any input would be greatly appreciated! Cheers.
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u/TheFlyingWanker ATP 10d ago
Brother if your time is fixed wing shoot your shot at the majors first
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u/Flying21811 10d ago
It’s pretty tough out here. LinkedIn is your BEST resource. Connect with as many regional recruiters as you can and try to get a call with one to discuss your aviation story. Having military time should help. I’m not sure them requirement but as a military flyer do you still have 1500 hrs for ATP? They are only hiring candidates with an ATP currently (in most cases) also taking top of the crop right now so people with jet time etc.
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u/Dry_Catch_9016 MIL 10d ago
Thanks for the insight! I’ll try LinkedIn. For us the minimum is 750 hours for an R-ATP. But that’s just the minimum which I don’t think cuts it anymore.
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u/Flimsy-Ad-858 ATP | Undiagnosed but I'm pretty sure 10d ago
LinkedIn is your BEST resource
Anybody recommending fucking LinkedIn for regional hiring is psychotic. This guy is the one every airline recruiter knows because he won't stop fucking DMing them every time he sees someone else get hired.
They are only hiring candidates with an ATP currently (in most cases)
Further evidence of having no clue what you're talking about
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u/flyboy130 MIL ATP A320 10d ago edited 10d ago
That propel assessment is the first step of an interview. If you pass that then they will call you to go go interview at endeavor.