Originally Posted by
rickt86
Gas used to be .99/cents a gallon, and CFIs flew for free to build time. Guys actually made it from flight school to a major in ten years or less. Student loans actually existed. This use to be a stepping stone, not 50% of domestic flying and an outsourcing mecca for major airlines. Being an airline pilot, even with a high school degree, USE to be a GREAT return on your investment. Now guys are stuck washing around the RJ industry as FOs and furloughed multiple times, with $100,000 in loans. AWFUL return on the investment.
Not being a pecker just pointing out what changed.
....and it only will get worse, as like or not the large RJ's are here to stay and will be the final stop for a large percentage of current regional pilots. Every 4 years or so, most pilot groups will have to "reset" their compensation or risk losing their paychecks. Factor in a stagnant hourly rate, large increases in health care costs and inflation and the average regional pilot's actual earning power will decrese significantly as they progress in the regional industry with the exception of their first captain upgrade.
Your actual earning power will peak as a newly minted RJ captain and decrease thereafter. First slowly as your hourly rate increases lag health care/inflation and then more quickly should you either lose your seat due to faliure to accept a reset or the losses of the reset itself. It will be a catch-22 situation with no remedy.