Would non-ZFT commercial experience screw me over for the airlines?

[CAValright]

From what I've seen, airline recruitment is generally divided into two camps. The first is for experienced pilots, who are required to have at minimum 500 hours and/or 100 sectors on a ZFT-qualifying aircraft. The second, somewhat smaller camp, is for low-hour pilots and seems to be directed primarily at those coming out of flight school. There are some jobs that come up without any hours requirements, but those are few and far between, and let's face it a flight school graduate would have to be pretty special to get picked over the next applicant with thousands of hours.

I'm currently in the second camp, with no luck finding a job just yet. The received wisdom definitely seems to be 'take the first job offered to you', which is great, but there's a potential for that job to be on a non-ZFT aircraft. I'm wondering whether amassing 1,000 hours on a King Air, for example, would close the door on opportunities for recent graduates, while at the same time getting me no closer to a vacancy with ZFT requirements. Would I be boxing myself into a corner by taking a non-qualifying job? This is just hypothetical at this point rather than being about a specific job offer.

I know the most obvious answer is 'it depends on the airline', but perhaps some people here have extra insight or experience.

[ZuluZuluAlpha]

Originally Posted by CAValright

From what I've seen, airline recruitment is generally divided into two camps. The first is for experienced pilots, who are required to have at minimum 500 hours and/or 100 sectors on a ZFT-qualifying aircraft. The second, somewhat smaller camp, is for low-hour pilots and seems to be directed primarily at those coming out of flight school. There are some jobs that come up without any hours requirements, but those are few and far between, and let's face it a flight school graduate would have to be pretty special to get picked over the next applicant with thousands of hours.

I'm currently in the second camp, with no luck finding a job just yet. The received wisdom definitely seems to be 'take the first job offered to you', which is great, but there's a potential for that job to be on a non-ZFT aircraft. I'm wondering whether amassing 1,000 hours on a King Air, for example, would close the door on opportunities for recent graduates, while at the same time getting me no closer to a vacancy with ZFT requirements. Would I be boxing myself into a corner by taking a non-qualifying job? This is just hypothetical at this point rather than being about a specific job offer.

I know the most obvious answer is 'it depends on the airline', but perhaps some people here have extra insight or experience.

Well I am ZFT qualified and I’m low houred but still can’t find a job in any capacity, my advice is not to worry, take what you can and keep flying, good chance you’ll network you way into whatever you desire.