SkyHigh

I remember well having a long phone conversation with a DC-6 captain in Alaska two years ago. He was calling about an airplane that I had for sale. It turns out that we both stared flying in Alaska around the same time and took similar paths up to point where he got he DC-6 job. Now at 40 was in the middle of realizing that he was trapped in his job.

He had thousands of hours and plenty of PIC in a large plane however the piston time he was getting was about as marketable as Duchess or Barron time. Most of his contacts were other Alaskan pilots who were in the same boat. He could not afford to leave since he was making a living but could not advance without starting completely over as a new hire at a regional. He also was unmarried and blamed the remote location for that. He wanted out but was stuck.

Flying in Alaska is fun but most of it really does not help overall career advancement much. It is easy to get swept away because Alaskan companies usually pay well, the jobs are fun and eventually pilots are able to build up a reputation and respect. Most of my peers were unable to make the crossover and eventually quit flying or accepted that Alaska flying was going to be their career.

I had a chance at the same exact job and I am sure it is a lot of fun. I guess it all depends on what you want to get out of aviation. I wanted a satisfying career and to build a middle class family life.

Skyhigh

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Pilots are paid for what they will do, not for what they can do.

SkyHigh

[quote=USMCFLYR;481925]No not everyone is destined for failure in aviation. It all depends upon what you want to get out of an flying career. If all person wants is to fly a plane then that is easy to accomplish. However if they wish to use an aviation career as a foundation to build a fully funded family life upon then I would say that it is a difficult path and that your money is better invested elsewhere.

SkyHigh

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Pilots are paid for what they will do, not for what they can do.

Rnav

Wow, airline pilots and military folks now have the food stamp line as something in common <sarcasm>. Guess the regional 121 equivalent to the two MRE's a day would be those very not so healthy trailmix bags I ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner from the galley.

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Cheers, RNAV

USMCFLYR

Only if you heat the trailmix bag with the heat tab and had to carry them around with you for days

USMCFLYR

ChrisH

Problem with this, is if you look at what anybody made in 1980, vs what they make now, EVERYBODY should be making significantly more. NO job has kept up with inflation.

TonyMontana

Correct me if i'm wrong here, but I think that the military pays for flight training and pays its pilots while they train-is that not correct.

USMCFLYR

TM -

No that is not correct. You are assuming that we are professional pilots. I am an officer in the United States Marine Corps. That is what I get paid for. My aircraft is a weapons system. A favorite saying is that we are rifleman temporarily assigned to flight duty.

USMCFLYR

SkyHigh

Well then perhaps the answer is not to get a "job" at all. Start a business.

SkyHigh

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Pilots are paid for what they will do, not for what they can do.

mrPhillips

I am a Math teacher and I have a student that is trying to do a research paper on the airline industry and in particular wages of men vs women and wages of various ages of pilots.

Does anyone have a link to where my student can access this kind of data perhaps even some of the data that SkyHigh referenced about starting pay in 1980 or even earlier? Thanks for your help.