That seals it. I was only before strongly leaning to getting out of the passenger flying business, but that thread now makes it 100% clear to me that I am doomed to low pay forever as a greyhound-bus-in-the-sky-driver. The very people whom we work so hard to get to their destinations safely through fatigue, bad weather, mechanical issues, etc etc, really have no respect for us. We are seen as spoiled, out of touch, ego maniacs. Thank you hollywood and management teams. BTW, I loved your post there Megadeth.

I chose this career because I love to fly and loathe cubicle farms. But, I want a salary commensurate with the amount of responsibility required of the position. We have to walk a fine line as pilots. It's so easy to screw up, there are hundred of gotcha's we must overcome daily. One second of complacency could mean a career ending deviation, or at least a career limiting one. One mistake could lead to dozens of deaths, and even the bankruptcy of an airline. The burden we bear is immense. We have to be in top form each and every leg we fly. A doctor screws up, one person may die. A CEO screws up, and millions of dollars may be lost. We as pilots bear both those burdens, coupled with very low career stability and a great deal of personal sacrifice (family..).

Look at how fast the cost of living is rising. Sure, there are parts of the country where $50k is good money, but that is short lived. As the cost of big city living in other parts keeps going up, people move to the 'cheap' places, and the cost goes up there. It's inevitable that soon, no matter where you live, 50k just won't cut it in the not too distant future. But then again I have lofty goals. I don't want to be working past age 60. I want to put my kids through college. I don't want to have to make my wife work to make up for what I don't make. I only have one life to live, so I'm going to shoot for the best I can with what abilities and opportunities I have. I don't want to be mediocre or average. But that's me. I think it's a shame that this 'career' is fast becoming a 'job'. In any case, I'll just keep investing every spare cent I can muster. I realized, hopefully at an early enough age, that I need to make my money work for me. In the end, I hope it pays off. In the meantime, I'll keep flying because I love to do it. I hate to say it, but management has me, and so many others, by the balls. We love to fly and therefore accept terms we otherwise would not.

PS - You controllers out there have my full support for high pay also. You shoulder a great deal of responsibility and deserve to be compensated accordingly.