This is nuts!

Ah, the glamour of working for an airline: snazzy uniforms, free trips to far way places, taking a shortcut through the TSA line at the airport, making new friends, being associated with one of the best-loved US-based companies. I’ll bet if I asked 100 people what their idea of working for this particular airline was, that’s what they’d say. I know it's what I thought when I decided to make the move from a 20+ year career as a high-tech professional into a high-touch one. Boy was I wrong! Well, at least half wrong…

We were told that getting hired by the airline-that-won't-be-named was harder than getting an admissions letter from Harvard University. Even if that were true, any comparison between attending an Ivy League school and my behind-the-scenes experience with the airline I eventually went to work for falls flat

Friend 1: “Unnamed Airline is hiring. They only list their open jobs online for one day.”

Me: “Really? I’ve always wanted to work for an airline. How do you like working there?”

Friend 1: “I love it!”

Me: “What do you do there?”

Friend 1: “I work for Customer Support and Services.”

Me: “What’s that?”

Friend 1: “It’s the reservations center.”

Me, thinking to myself: That sounds like interesting work.

Me: “How much does it pay?”

Friend 1: “Not much at first but the benefits are great and you get regular raises.”

Me, thinking to myself: How much is “not much”?

Me: “Do you think I could do it? Is there any future in it?”

Friend 1: “I’ve only been there a year, but yeah, you could do it, and there are lots of options for advancement.”

Me: “Like what?”

Friend 1: “You can start off anywhere, and after a year you can request a transfer.”

Me: “Is that what you’re going to do?”

Friend 1: “I’d like to but I’ve been late to work too many times.”

Me, thinking to myself: Wait, what?

Me to Friend 2 on Facebook: “You’ve worked for Unnamed Airline for a long time, how do you like it?”

Friend 2: “I love it! I’ve been there 16 years now.”

Me: “Wow, you must really enjoy your job.”

Friend 2: “Yeah, it can be tough loading cargo in the winter in the northeast but I’ve gotten used to it.”

Me, thinking to myself: No way would I want to load cargo in the winter in the northeast.

Me: “What do you think about me applying for a job with Unnamed Airline?”

Friend 2: “ Do it! I think you’ll do really well.”

Me: “I’m considering it, but the pay is really low, compared to my current work.”

Friend 2: “It won’t take you long to work your way up, and the benefits are great.”

Me, thinking to myself: I guess it can’t hurt to apply.

Me to Friend 3: “I’ve applied to work at Unnamed Airline.”

Friend 3: “As a technical writer? I know you wrote some avionics maintenance manuals for them early in your career.”

Me: “No, this would be starting out at the bottom and working my way up.”

Friend 3: “Why would you want to do that? I heard the pay was really low.”

Me: “Yeah, that’s what I heard too, but I was told (by someone who works there) that there are lots of opportunities to move up after one year.

Friend 3: “I don’t know…”

Me: “I haven’t been offered the job yet; I just barely applied.”

Friend 3: “I guess…”

Me, thinking to myself: I wonder if we’ll wear snazzy uniforms? How soon can employees take free trips to far way places? Can employees skip the TSA line?