Left seat on the a320 or right seat on a b777?

[varigflier]

Guys,

I am at a crossroad and need your opinion to help reach a decision. I am about to start flying the 777. If I stay at my current airline, in another 3 years tops, I'll be coming back to the a320 for command. The thing is I don't plan on staying here any longer than I need to. The place sucks and it's getting worse by the day so here is what I need to decide. Go overseas now as a b777 F/O or stay where I am and get the a320 command 3 years from now before jumping ship? One thing to keep in mind is that I might not be able to last another 3 years here. One of the worse places I have ever worked.
Any opinion is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
VF

[411A]

Grit your teeth and stay, for you will find on the 'outside' world that to approach another (often times rapidly expanding) airline as a Captain is many times more productive than as a First Officer.

First Officers, dime a dozen....experienced Captains, offentimes a completely different story.
Just look at the number of F/O's stuck at EK, with not much chance of timely upgrade with DE Captain hiring continuing.
Some of these folks left rather stable jobs at home, hoping for a fast upgrade.
They completely outsmarted themselves...now they do nothing but complain, and these complaints fall on deaf ears.

They were extremely foolish.

[Notso Fantastic]

Stick it out, stick it out, stick it out! Get that 4th. ring, then make tracks!

[point8six]

Get your command experience - you will never regret it. Now is probably not the best time to seek "greener grass". So take the command and use the next few years to consolidate. A quick look through PPRuNe will reveal how many F/O's are stuck in the RHS with little prospect of an upgrade.

[GlueBall]

. . . because if you have to ask about accepting the upgrade, then you obviously have doubts about being able to pass the captain's check, and doubts about being able to accept the challenges and responsibility that come with it. . . :=

[IRISHPILOT]

Well, I have a different view:

I was recently offered an ATR command by 2 companies and a 737 command by another company. I choose the 737 FO position instead, VERY low salary.

Am a lot at home, 20 minutes to work (the base is in my city!). So I see more of the wife, look after the animals and generally have a good time.

You live only once, and if you are promised command in 3 years time, I would not count on that AT ALL! Do you get a guarantee that your current company will exist in 3 years and will be in need of a Capt. at that time and that that will be you? Probably not.

So your choice for the next 3 years is: FO A320 with a possible upgrade in a place that you detest or FO B777 (do let us know where that is, or if that place is more bearable at least). - Direct employment or agency? Different culture? Does longhaul suit you?

And do you have a wife / girlfriend? Will she move with you or is she happy where she is? Will she get a new job and find friends where you have your B777 job?

This is not about accepting an upgrade or not, this MAY happen in 3 years time. But same goes for the 777. GB, how you can judge if this man is ready for an upgrade or not is beyond me. He is not asking if he should accept an upgrade (nobody offered him this), but if he should stay living in a dump as the chances of an upgrade are better there.

4 years of having no life (3 years FO + some command experience) would simply not be an option for me.

A hard decision, and in my opinion not about flying at all. IP.

[varigflier]

I don't know where he got that from. Nobody offered me command. It's still at least 2 years away if this place follows seniority at all(which they usually dont').
I agree with Irishpilot. I am not looking at a flying point of view but a quality of life point of view. I like longhaul better than short hops, hate the place that I am at now and I would be making the move alone so no family to take with me. I could stay here and in another 3 years I might be a captain here but at the same time I am living here day by day, meaning I am on the brink of telling these guys to shove it and getting outta here, and that is basically the main problem and a decision I have to make soon.
Thanks for all your answers and point of views. I really appreciate it. If you have any more, keep it coming.
BTW I have never flown for Varig......

[Ladytech]

Fly the Boeing-it's a lot better airplane!
A lot of senior captains retiring in most of the majors and if you learn the airplane-you will move up! I just personally think the any Airbus is an accident looking for a place to happen. I've worked on both.

[16down2togo]

Hard to tell, good outfit for the 777, do it.
Been in the same sit., payed off, wouldn't be where I'm now with all the cmd hrs on the 737, but....!
Always a gamble, judge for youself if command is your primary goal or long range is your career plan, might lead you to a totally different evaluation.
If it pays off or not, time will tell you, it's always a gamble, you can win or lose.

[frontlefthamster]

If you need to ask here, you're probably not ready for the LHS.

If you take serious note of the answers here, you're definitely not ready for the LHS.

[powerstall]

with the price of oil sky rocketing, should you analyze first if the company would still be operational in the coming years? and if they will still be there, then the upgrade would be better, but if the company is going down the drain with furloughs and etc, well, you would know what the right thing to do is...

anyway, just my two-cents.

[varigflier]

Guys, this isn't a question of if I am ready for command or not. It's a question of better quality of life etc. I have other sources of income so money is not a problem and if I can have a better life as an FO and that means waiting a little longer for command than fine. That's why I was asking what you guys thought about it.

[GixxerK5]

....own statement. I think you know very well what you will do.:ok:

Good Luck.

Tchao

[TopBunk]

... hate the place that I am at now

Doesn't that say it all? If you don't like where you are now as an FO, what makes you think you will like it any better as a Captain in possibly 2 or 3 years? What makes it any better in getting the fourth stripe?

Having said all that, what makes where you may go any better or any more secure in employment terms in 2008?

At the end of the day, you must weigh up the alternatives and decide, we can't do it for you. Just on piece of advice, try not to end up in 5 or 10 years regretting a missed opportunity.

Good luck!!