Originally Posted by NuGuy
The long and the short of it, if you want to fly for a US major, you need a lot of time (>5,000 TT) or slightly less time and be ex-military (>2,000TT). It doesn't have to be air carrier time, but at least some should be, and some of that should be turbine PIC. You should have a 4-year (or equivalent degree), and at least show some advancement to a "leadership" position (instructor pilot, checkairman, stand/eval pilot (for mil guys), assistant chief pilot, or even union rep). Have a life outside of work.
If you can check at least some of those boxes (oh, and have a legal right to work in the US), then you stand a reasonable chance at getting looked at without working for the associated regional airline. Super deluxe that one might have 1500 hours in 737s, but if you have 1800 hours total time, that's not going to cut it in the US due to radically different hiring philosophy. Golly, it's neat that someone might have flown a A320, but any US major can train anyone who meets their qualification to fly it, and that person has the same training footprint as someone with previous Airbus time
Thank-you for all of your replies. Zondaracer, your answers have been particularly helpful and informative. The above quote from NuGuy seems like an appropriate summary to my initial question.
It does sound like there is definitely some serious movement in the industry at the moment and how that will affect the job market in the next 5 - 10 years is anyones guess. But I get the impression it generally positive for the foreseeable future?
All your answers have definitely given me food for though about my career path. Obviously everything could change once I've qualified. I might discover a love for bush flying in Peru and never look at an airline job again. However, I feel having a certain sense of direction and end goal is useful and knowing the different steps to get there will help to plan my future and make decisions.