Originally Posted by Skyler02

I would say almost half of each new hire class is close to 40+. Some of the reasons:
- 65 Rule and Recession held people back and now they're repositioning to get PIC and move on
- 65 Rule and Recession forced many to leave aviation bc they couldn't afford to be stuck at the regional level for years and now with opportunity on the horizon, they are able to come back
- Young kids can't afford the training/degree unless someone is going to give them financial help (banks aren't loaning to Pilots bc historically they can't repay the loan)
- Second career guys that made a good living in another field can now afford to do the training and be a pilot like they always wanted to be
- Spouse is now making a good living and says - go do what you've always wanted to do
This all leads to - although some new pilots are entering/re-entering the field, they won't be here for the full span of the career. Within the next 20 years when the empty pilot slots are skyrocketing, many of these new guys will also be on the way out.
Airlines created this mess by destroying this profession. It will be interesting to watch them try to dig themselves out of this hole.