HDQDD

Instant Classic. I might have to borrow that one.

skchin

Take the Delta job. After you graduate you maybe able to find cargo / logistics job. Waiter isn't really a career building path, unless you want to go in to food business.

AirTheory

Take the DL job 100%. Serving food is boring and can be done at any time in your hypothetical career path. Working at an airport sounds interesting if you love flying

paul21

I realize this is unfair, and I didn't mean to be condescending. What I meant by responsibility was decision making. A ramp worker is essentially following orders, policies, and training while a waiter has to make some decisions about who to comp for bad service and how to treat customers i.e. has the authority to decide what to do for many situations.

Starblazer

Add to that mix non-rev travel is always last minute... you (typically) can't book cheap hotels because you have to have flexible cancellation policies. I've seen completely open flights fill up in an instant due to an issue with another flight.

It's a great travel perk, but with the complex algorithms and ruthless overselling/upselling.... standby travel is getting harder and harder by the day.

I can sum standby travel up easily... you have a lower priority than dirt, because dirt ALWAYS flys.

I'm almost certain that DGS doesn't do RR anymore.

Having said all of the above, I've seen, like Gabe, quite a bit of the world as a NRSA. Heck, I'm finishing up a three week vacation where I did a RTW itinerary.. abit by the seat of my pants and with the help of two ZED tkts. I did have to sleep at an airport due to my flight filling up... but it was worth it in the end.

injera

Work at Outback unless your dream is to move through the ranks at Delta. Free travel is nice but with work, school and life i dont forsee you jaunting off to Tahiti (or even Tallahassee) every couple of weeks for free.

Plus, $8 an hour is HUGE, and a waiter job provides much more flexibility. Tell Delta you need time off to study for finals and see how that goes.

Often1

The long view is important unless you have immediate responsibilities to be met. People who can afford to accept unpaid internships because those can lead to better paid and interesting work down the road. Others take the bartending gig because it gets tuition paid (which is also important if you want the degree).

There is no "better" course of action. Different people have different needs and desires.

michael_v

Search for a part-time job in your area of study. The work experience you gain will help you get a better job when you graduate.

SamuelS

Very true. Nonrev travel is very challenging. I still have non-rev benefits from a previous life but I almost never use them for travel within US and Canada as I have a tight schedule and it's just not worth it for me to lose a full day of work (after the third time it happened, it wasn't so fun).

A distinction is that if you live in a major hub city with several longhaul international flights - these tend to have less last minute wild load variations like you can find on domestic, so it's easier to plan. Additionally, you can fly up front. Being able to log in, check which non-stop international flights have several open seats up front, and just head off to Milan or London for a few days in the comfort of a BE seat is very nice, and flying up front turns the flight from a chore into part of the fun of the trip.

If however you're in a small station in the middle of nowhere with 5 or 6 flights a day out - fuhgeddaboudit.