There's no pilot shortage. There never has been. It's been forecast for a long time, and is not reality. Colleges and flight schools and Kit Darby thrive on pushing the rumor.

Because entry level bottom feeder operators are struggling for personnel does not equate to a pilot shortage. It's simply a matter of poor employers who won't pay enough to attract qualified personnel.

There is a temporary gap created by the requirement to hold ATP minimums, but with the exception of a few years, that was never an issue. Pilots always needed higher numbers to get hired. For a period, pilots were getting in with 250 hours and the airlines had a ready supply of dirt cheap labor. That window has closed, and pilots need to go elsewhere to earn the few hours necessary to get on with a regional. Not a big deal.

There's no pilot shortage; just a shortage of those qualified, willing to work for low wages for the bottom tiers of the industry. Don't confuse the two.