For SWA you might not break even. TankerDriver gave a pretty good explanation of the bay. The bottom line is that a 10 yr pilot is probably a Major and making over 100K (with the bonus). The Air Force Academy did a study several years ago and it indicated that if a pilot left the military at the half way point and had normal progression with an airline (legacy carriers) that in the end you would make more getting out. The problem is that assumes you dont get furloughed and it also assumed the 150-200k salaries that the 10+ yr airline guys were making. Obviously the low cost carriers arent paying that much so it might pay (financially) to stay in the military. However, the QOL issues are probably what makes the difference. AF QOL isnt bad...I actually like the military but there's still a lot I dont like. Most importantly, as TankerDriver pointed out you are an officer first so if you think you're going to fly 20 yrs you are sadly mistaken. We do a lot of other stuff that becomes a pain sometimes (IMO). I'd rather be a airline guy who shows up, flies, and then goes home when he's done. No office work, no deployments, no taking classes/jobs just to get promoted, no moving your family every 3 yrs, no "playing the game", no dodging AAA going into Iraq.

As for job security the military was secure (obviously) post-9/11 but the military has booted people in the past and it looks the AF is about to do it again. Anyone who saw last weeks AF Times probably saw that the AF says it needs to let 55k people go in the next 5 years and they are talking about involuntary seperating people....so the military may not always be the picture of stability we brag about today....