Mikezulu no I don't fly fighters although some crew might accuse me of occasionally flying as though I'm in a fighter. Kidding I'm conservative to the bone. I didn't go for the military as I wasn't keen on the return of service. I wasn't sure if I could stay in the same job for that length of time. Having said that I think the military sounds like an excellent job but am not really qualified to comment. "Pass A Frozo" would be the man to ask about the military.
GA stands for General Aviation. Basically everything from your smallest aeroplane to say a large Piston Twin. Having said that the upper end of GA is a little blurry some times and it can include bigger aeroplanes: turbo props and maybe jets. Depends on who you talk to.
Regionals are: REX, SUNSTATE ect.
Majors: QANTAS, CATHAY. I won’t mention
VB and J* or I'll start a thread drift on why LCC's aren't Majors ect (but for the record I see J* and
VB as Majors).
Personally I really think its important to spend a few years developing an alternate career path and cashflow before getting into the flying stuff. During that time you get to know the industry before putting your hard earned cash on the line. As I said previously, if you can get into the Qantas cadetship then I'd just go for that and not worry about the rest.
As for Degrees and particularly aviation ones I'm just not seeing the value the way I used to. The world has changed my friends. Doing a degree is great for your brain, personal growth and not to mention your contacts BUT my experience was that it didn't make the difference I thought it would have. Universities and Flying Schools are business' much like your Holden dealership. They are selling a product and will say and do what it takes to get your business. Do not convince yourself for one minute that you will have an advantage over the next guy because of a degree. At the end of the day airlines interview a number of people with a variety of backgrounds. QF leans toward people that have their fit from the aptitude side of things and as far as I know the other three look at how you go on the day (no pressure!). So after its all said and done in my opinion when you come to the last stop (jet job or regional for that matter what ever you like) how you present yourself how you answer the questions and lastly but not least how you fly the sim is what is going to matter. With all that info available to the recruiters its hardly the degree that will make the difference for a spot up the pointy end.
Don't get caught up in reasons to avoid GA and going bush (degrees instructor ratings ect) and don't get sold bull**** airline wet dreams. Its a tough business it can and does kill people. Make sure you want to fly for a living as opposed to want to impress a variety of bystanders relatives and attractive women. It involves 1 medical (which randomly go wrong at times) and at Airline level 3 flight tests per year 2 of which largely have your entire career on the line. So be prepared and willing to open the books and do the work year in year out for the rest of your working life.
I’m definitely not the expert on this forum I’m just telling it from a point of view of someone that made a number of right and wrong turns along the way and am now able to make a reasonable living out of flying but accept that I’ll never become wealthy because of it. Good luck.
I just wish I knew all this at the start.