Originally Posted by
blastboy
Take a chill pill there, buddy! First of all, 85K first year is a lot of money, I don't care what you tell me. Could it be higher? Sure, why not. The more the merrier. So if making 8K a month isn't decent, what are you going to do to change it? What are you going to do to make the salaries more suitable? Because if you're not being proactive in changing things then you're just as guilty as the mentalities you speak of. We could go on all day long about what salaries should or shouldn't be, but what actions are you taking to improve them?
BB,
You're right, 85K is a lot of money - but not to fly a Global Express. (By comparison, my compensation package is close to that to fly a CITATION).
Folks who accept jobs flying equipment for "sub-standard" pay cut themselves short. More importantly, they under cut pilots who have negotiated higher tier pay for themselves. Fortunately that trend has yet to really make it over into the corporate world. Some things that have ensured this are the fact that some hiring managers (CP's) don't want pilots who low ball the figures (it doesn't look good for their own 6 figure salaries). It also helps that many flight departments keep their salary figures under lock and key.
As to what I'm going to do to make the salaries more suitable? Education is key. Teaching entry level pilots that they are worth more than what they think is the first line. Many guys flying in light aircraft come out of training thinking "Wow! The first paycheck to fly... AND IT'S A JET! I've been paying 200/hr to rent a Seminole - Just pay me anything! After all building experience/flight time is payment itself!"
I'd really love to see that attitude go away. Like I said before- Don't sell yourself short. There are MANY variables in determining what a pilot is worth, but make sure that when you're going into an interview, you have a good idea of what the pay scale ranges are for the aircraft you're interviewing in.