Originally Posted by
Red Forman
I can see where you are trying to go, but most people I know, myself included, were full time instructors the last year or two of college. You have to do the bare minimum to not be a CFI by your junior or senior year. You are also only looking at someone going the airline route. When you look at my first 7 years and project for my next 3 I am right at your 70k a year average of your "typical" white collar job over the first ten years. I know my story isn't typical, but I think you are painting with a broad brush.
Since this is Airline Pilot Central, I used a typical airline career progression. There are many paths in aviation but they are not all readily available to all comers. Military for example eliminates the financial dues paying, but is not an option for many people.
Originally Posted by
Red Forman
On top of that, my friends that went the lawyer route are only now in their 2nd or third year out of school and earning a paycheck, whereas I am in my 7th. The ones that went to med school are just now starting their residency.
As I said up front I specifically excluded "higher-end" professions because they are typically front-loaded with school and internships, but then get into bigger money later in life. Airlines used to work the same way, but the problem now is that the big payoff down the road is mostly gone but they've kept all the entry-level dues paying.
What I'm trying to point out is that the dues-paying is a hardship which for most folks will never be repaid (in financial terms). It's something to consider when doing the math about the cost of becoming a pilot.
People tend to assume that pilots get paid at least a living white-collar wage, but it's not true.