Originally Posted by
idlethrust
I actually know of several fo's that learned how to work the system and they make over 50k a year.So it can be done.
I don't know why you keep bringing that up. That is the same as, "I know a 747 captain that makes $400,000 and only works 10 days a month, so it can be done."
Most of an airline paycheck is out of the pilots control. The staffing of the airline and the amount of flying determines if the airline has 75 hour lines or 100 hour lines. Then your seniority will determine if you can get access to soft time by picking up extra trips (if they are available). When I was at a regional, my paycheck would fluctuate by 60% because of those variables. And to make it worse, the months I was gone from home the most (reserve) resulted in me bringing home the least amount of money.
And on top of a paycheck that is largely out of your control, you are acting like $50,000 a year to fly a jet carrying 50-90 people is a lot of money. The truth is, the pilots you know making that amount of money probably spent several years making far below that. A regional FO should be able to make $50,000 a year at year 1 without having to work on their days off and without having to fly more than 75 hours a month.