From the Social Security Administration:

2015
Average US Net Compensation (here defined as taxable income, what we think of as gross salary) -- $46,119

Median US Net Compensation -- $29,930


And per payscale.com, one source of many I could use, "median salary is a better measure of typical salary."

So, I feel that $60k is "a large amount" more than the average, or median -- take your pick, US salary.



As for the time away from home, it's kind of what I signed up for. I don't expect to be paid for sitting in a hotel in Des Moines for 18 hours. I expect to be paid for when I work. Now..... should that be starting from when I board the plane? Yeah, probably... maybe in the next contract...

Finally, even if we took your 51k number as the average US salary, that is for all workers, over their whole careers. I am at the beginning of mine, as a regional FO. My career average or median salary is likely to wildly dwarf the US average salary.