Throw us your roundtable ideas...

[juxtapilot]

This would be helpful:

Originally Posted by Aero_Engineer

How to excell an airline interview would be a great topic since a lot of us will be in that position in the next couple of years.

So would this:

Originally Posted by jtrain609

-How to get through training from the training departments perspective. We've got a handful of former training captains hanging out around here who could provide some good feedback to people on how training departments look at trainee's and what you can do to get yourself through training. I can think of three freight training captains and one part 121 sim instructor that are active on the forums off the top of my head. A subset of that discussion could be a little bit on quality vs. quantity of flight time and how it can and will affect you in the training environment.

And to expand on that, how to get through training from the Pilot's perspective. What do you do to make sure you don't get burned out? Something like that.

Also, the ALPA discussion could be very helpful as well.

[Bumblebee]

I would like to talk about how to pass an oral (mindset, preparation, delivery). Do we have any folks on here who have administered an oral? Any folks on hiring commitees or check airmen? I would like to have some new hires, and recent upgrades have input into the discussion as well.

ready for the gutter humor (do not disappoint me)

[Kristie]

i just can't....i just can't GO THERE....someone else is gonna have to do it for me (but keep it pg13ish for me plz)


As it is, maybe Matt (Flychicaga) would know someone since he was in the training camp at one point? I can see if Doug can't get the Delta hiring guy or our buddy who hires the folks at United out for a roundtable (he already said he'd be coming out to represent United).... I'll ask him when he gets home on friday.

[mpenguin1]

Originally Posted by bumblebee

I would like to talk about how to pass an oral (mindset, preparation, delivery). Do we have any folks on here who have administered an oral? Any folks on hiring commitees or check airmen? I would like to have some new hires, and recent upgrades have input into the discussion as well.

ready for the gutter humor (do not disappoint me)

If nobody else has any ideas, I can always ask the Allegiant Check Airmen to help out......

[kellwolf]

Originally Posted by bumblebee

I would like to talk about how to pass an oral (mindset, preparation, delivery). Do we have any folks on here who have administered an oral? Any folks on hiring commitees or check airmen? I would like to have some new hires, and recent upgrades have input into the discussion as well.

ready for the gutter humor (do not disappoint me)

I'd be down for helping on this one. My sim partner and I gave each other "mock orals" based on what we knew the APDs did and how they did it. My sim partner said I was a LOT tougher on him than the actual APD, so my plan worked. Train hard, test easier.

I know we've got at least one check airman (or soon to be) on here that's going. I'm planning on tossing my name in that hat here at Pinnacle once I meet the requirements.

I'm also starting work on the Pilot-to-Pilot committee here, and we work with the MEC and communications guys to get word out to pilots. I'd be down with helping out on the union roundtable stuff, too.

[n57flyguy]

Well since I might be at NJC 08 (depends on how my Summer plans work out), how there might be a freind of mine (lurker), and another younger JCer abroad might attend, I figured maybe something for the younger people in aviation. Things such as:

-How you got to where you are now, what did you do? why did you do it?
-A general overview of what to do and what not to do while pursuing an aviation career
-Financing flight training and managing a budget for flight training.
-Study habbits to always have through out our aviation careers that are effective
-Tips on staying in the game and not "washing out" of training

...Thats a few off the top of my head.

Personally, I would be intrested in corporate pilot perspective aswell. Any corporate pilots going to be there this year?

[Seggy]

First thing is first, we need to have one session this year. Last year we really didn't have an option, but I think it is imperative we only have one session this year.

Secondly, we have no more than five or six presenters that speak on a particular topic. They speak for twenty minutes, tops, then open it up for questions/answers and someone can add what they want for twenty or so minutes. Bring props, slides, give outs, etc...We really won't need to cover CRM, Al Haynes is CRM. The presenters should be 'experienced' in what they are talking about and will run their twenty to forty minutes.

These presenters will need to keep have their presentations conform to those with zero time to 10,000 hours.



These topics in my mind should be...



Applying for jobs, preparing for interviews from Regionals to Legacies (I can do this one)

Getting through training (Cooperate/Graduate)

Unions and Aviation

Supplemental 121 operations and the doors it opens (Polar this one is yours!)

Corporate/Fractional/91 Ownership Aviation (Please come out to Vegas SteveC!)



Also what day is the round tables and where is it going to be?

[Seggy]

Originally Posted by n57flyguy

-How you got to where you are now, what did you do? why did you do it?
-A general overview of what to do and what not to do while pursuing an aviation career
-Financing flight training and managing a budget for flight training.

Hope you can make it!

I think that with these topics you can get that out of the people on here when talking to them one on one during the particular events.

[TheShortOne]

ladies only round table "effective communication with your SO gone all the time" I vote we have it at margaritaville again at the same time as the other round tables...my eyes glazed over last year

[Kristie]

Segs, i'm not sure i agree with the one session...that would be soooooo long (like ALL day) that you'd have people falling asleep or getting lazy or zoning out. people flittering in/out of the room for bathroom breaks or people leaving cuz they don't need/want to hear certain topics.....I'd rather have split sessions about 45 mins to 1.5 hrs tops (20-25 in a room set up as a hollow square (ie: roundtable type)) and keep the topics separate so those who need/want to be there can be...those who don't or aren't interested don't need to be.

Roundtables are set for Mon & Tues in the Phoenix room meeting area. We could use the golden room (which seats more people) for some of the topics that would incur a larger group.

but i thought keeping them separate last year really helped with keeping it interactive, personalized etc??



I'd like to see a medical roundtable and a lifestyle roundtable...but not at Margaritaville. it's too hard to talk to everyone there...i'd much rather keep it as a roundtable session and have at least one or two sets of pilot/wife to answer questions

[Seggy]

check your PMs Kristie

[n57flyguy]

Originally Posted by Seggy

Hope you can make it!

I think that with these topics you can get that out of the people on here when talking to them one on one during the particular events.

Me too!

I tend to agree, and like you mentioned...

These presenters will need to keep have their presentations conform to those with zero time to 10,000 hours.

I guess I was just posting aloud, thinking about somethings I know people around my age struggle with while pursuing an aviation career, including myself.

[kellwolf]

I think the key will be to keep it small (or small-ish). Group gets too large, people might not want to ask questions...or we might get too many questions.

[Seggy]

How do you fairly divide it into groups then?

[Bumblebee]

Originally Posted by Seggy

How do you fairly divide it into groups then?

You know, I was thinking about a hybrid of the suggestions previously posted. We should have a big roundtable/seminar type session, then have the different subjects that folks want to talk about in smaller sessions. We could get a preliminary idea in a poll as to who wants to attend which of the smaller roundatbles, and then schedule the sessions and the rooms. Then we could allow up to capacity for each session . . .

[Seggy]

I really really really think we should avoid dividing it up into smaller groups period.

Say someone hears something that they want to talk more about from a presenter during the big meeting. Why force them to be torn on making a choice between two of the smaller sessions?

Honestly, people are just going to need to ask questions. I understand group settings can be extremely intimidating, but we have all had intimidating situations in this career. It is part of it! We can have an anonymous question drop box or something like that. Have to who the question is for and have that person answer the question if one wants to remain anonymous.

I don't want smaller groups furthermore to make sure everyone out there understands everyone has important things to say, and if no one will be criticized in what they say in person, it can hopefully make one feel at ease with what they want to write their thoughts online.

[Bumblebee]

Originally Posted by Seggy

I really really really think we should avoid dividing it up into smaller groups period.

Say someone hears something that they want to talk more about from a presenter during the big meeting. Why force them to be torn on making a choice between two of the smaller sessions?

Honestly, people are just going to need to ask questions. I understand group settings can be extremely intimidating, but we have all had intimidating situations in this career. It is part of it! We can have an anonymous question drop box or something like that. Have to who the question is for and have that person answer the question if one wants to remain anonymous.

I don't want smaller groups furthermore to make sure everyone out there understands everyone has important things to say, and if no one will be criticized in what they say in person, it can hopefully make one feel at ease with what they want to write their thoughts online.

I understand your concerns about folks feeling intimidated by larger groups, and I'm sure we can alleviate that with the tone we set. My feeling about having some smaller groups is that we can cover certain topics in more detail with the appropriate group. We should have a large session, but not let that preclude us from having a couple, to a few, smaller sessions that could really get deep into just one of the subjects matter.

[BobDDuck]

Here's my thought (and this has been communicated via PM to some already).

One round table session. Doesn't matter how many people we have, as long as they can fit in the room.

Have a list of about 15 topics with knowledgeable people prepared to speak for about 5 minutes about a certain topic.

Person talks for 5 minutes. Moderator asks a question about it to the group. Somebody responds. Conversation gets going.

Move on to the next topic if it starts to drag, goes a certain amount of time, or gets off topic.

If we get through all 15 topics, great. If not, oh well.

The original intent of this (last year) was to provide a forum where people could ask questions of people who are currently in positions the questioners want to be in. Or think they may want to be in. By a moderated group format with everybody in one place, I think we can best achieve this goal.

Also, I think keeping the group as one follows the format of the web forum but puts it in real time. Which is sort of cool.

What do ya'll think about that?

[Bumblebee]

Originally Posted by BobDDuck

Here's my thought (and this has been communicated via PM to some already).

One round table session. Doesn't matter how many people we have, as long as they can fit in the room.

Have a list of about 15 topics with knowledgeable people prepared to speak for about 5 minutes about a certain topic.

Person talks for 5 minutes. Moderator asks a question about it to the group. Somebody responds. Conversation gets going.

Move on to the next topic if it starts to drag, goes a certain amount of time, or gets off topic.

If we get through all 15 topics, great. If not, oh well.

The original intent of this (last year) was to provide a forum where people could ask questions of people who are currently in positions the questioners want to be in. Or think they may want to be in. By a moderated group format with everybody in one place, I think we can best achieve this goal.

Also, I think keeping the group as one follows the format of the web forum but puts it in real time. Which is sort of cool.

What do ya'll think about that?

I love having the large roundtable session, my only concern is that if we limit it to the one session, we will not be able to cover any issues in depth.

[Kristie]

what if we were to call the large group session a Q&A session....and then have roundtables/focus groups off of the Q&A session that go into more detail about certain Q&A topics that came up?

we could have a panel of folks that could answer specific questions...

really, a "roundtable" is supposed to be small, topic oriented discussion among all participants...similar to a "breakout" session.

keep in mind that we really don't have money for microphones and that type of thing...we'd have to grab that scratch up from somewhere if we really need it.

[JEP]

Originally Posted by Kristie

what if we were to call the large group session a Q&A session....and then have roundtables/focus groups off of the Q&A session that go into more detail about certain Q&A topics that came up?

we could have a panel of folks that could answer specific questions...

really, a "roundtable" is supposed to be small, topic oriented discussion among all participants...similar to a "breakout" session.

keep in mind that we really don't have money for microphones and that type of thing...we'd have to grab that scratch up from somewhere if we really need it.

You don't get any mics and stuff with the meeting rental? That seems a little odd, but possible I suppose.

[Bumblebee]

Originally Posted by Kristie

what if we were to call the large group session a Q&A session....and then have roundtables/focus groups off of the Q&A session that go into more detail about certain Q&A topics that came up?

we could have a panel of folks that could answer specific questions...

really, a "roundtable" is supposed to be small, topic oriented discussion among all participants...similar to a "breakout" session.

keep in mind that we really don't have money for microphones and that type of thing...we'd have to grab that scratch up from somewhere if we really need it.

I have a wireless mic rig (small enough to throw in a bag) I bet Sean could hook us up with a small powered speaker (depending on the room) and even a little mixer.

[Seggy]

Originally Posted by BobDDuck

Here's my thought (and this has been communicated via PM to some already).

One round table session. Doesn't matter how many people we have, as long as they can fit in the room.

Have a list of about 15 topics with knowledgeable people prepared to speak for about 5 minutes about a certain topic.

Person talks for 5 minutes. Moderator asks a question about it to the group. Somebody responds. Conversation gets going.

Move on to the next topic if it starts to drag, goes a certain amount of time, or gets off topic.

If we get through all 15 topics, great. If not, oh well.

The original intent of this (last year) was to provide a forum where people could ask questions of people who are currently in positions the questioners want to be in. Or think they may want to be in. By a moderated group format with everybody in one place, I think we can best achieve this goal.

Also, I think keeping the group as one follows the format of the web forum but puts it in real time. Which is sort of cool.

What do ya'll think about that?

This is what should be done. I nominate you as the moderator!

Originally Posted by Bumblebee

my only concern is that if we limit it to the one session, we will not be able to cover any issues in depth.

If an attendee wants to go into depth about a certain issue they can take notes and it would be their responsibility to seek out more information about it. Whether it be from the presenter, ask a question on here, or research it themselves.

Originally Posted by Kristie

what if we were to call the large group session a Q&A session....and then have roundtables/focus groups off of the Q&A session that go into more detail about certain Q&A topics that came up?

we could have a panel of folks that could answer specific questions...

really, a "roundtable" is supposed to be small, topic oriented discussion among all participants...similar to a "breakout" session.

I think we should just call in 'Rountable Sessions-JC Style'

There is a ton of information out there in this industry. I know Ethan can moderate this to have a discussion among those attending. If one wants more information they will need to find a way to get it themselves! Might force them to walk up to someone about a point and network when they might have not!

I think we should really give it a try. What is the worse thing that can happen? Last year quite frankly, we just winged it and it was very informative and helpful.

We have a baseline let us think outside of the box and maybe try it this way. If it doesn't work we can try something else in 2009!

My opinion.

[BobDDuck]

The difference in opinion I am seeing relates to the depth of information we are trying to provide. On one hand it would be nice to allow everybody to see/hear/participate in everything. On the other hand it would be great to allow people to get into in depth discussions about specific topics that interest them.

My personal preference (and this pertains to the fact that I am much more of a big picture person) is to go with the more general, moderated Q&A with a focus on several (read: 5-10) topics with the possibility of more if stuff moves along quickly. I fully agree that people may lose interest in somethings so time management will be critical. Obviously certain topics are going to be more interesting for some then others and that is certainly something we will have to work around.

The problem I see (for me personally anyways) is if we break out into small groups of 10-20 there may be multiple sessions I want to participate in but because this will all be happening at the same time I will have to chose which one I want to attend, or it may be decided with a certain work group filling up (how do we decide who gets to go to what? Site Seniority?)

A possibility (and I don't know how the master schedule is coming together) is to have the Q&A session as one of the first events and then schedule a few "focus group" meetings over the next day or so that people can sign up to attend if that subject interests them. I can see this for something like "unions" and "training study habits" and maybe "CRM". If they aren't scheduled for conflicting times people can go to multiple ones but they can also me limited to a workable number by a first come first serve sign up.

Again, that is depending on space available and how we can work around other events.

I'd be happy to moderate, but I think Mark's faith in my skillz might be slightly misplaced

[Kristie]

Originally Posted by JEP

You don't get any mics and stuff with the meeting rental? That seems a little odd, but possible I suppose.

nope, it's extra. that's pretty typical for meeting space from what i know and the other places i've talked to.