Originally Posted by
galaxy flyer
Another factor has been the expansion of the potential pilots for hiring. Used to was, for majors (read: legacy carriers) one had to be 32 or younger, 4-year degree, pass a physical that astronauts could barely pass (a whole day at AA with an electroencephalogram and horrible diabetes test), vision of an eagle (20/20 uncorrected was the standard until the ADA in ‘92) and more than 70% were ex-military except during big hiring sprees. Oh, a be a white male almost without exception.
It would be absolutely unheard of for a 40-year old to be considered. Nothing against today’s standards, but those tight hurdles reduced to pool. The first change was deregulation, then ADA, then regionals with flows.
GF
He's absolutely right that the pool of candidates is huge. The fact is that the average joe sees the profession as some incredible "dream job" where they can fly around on someone else's dime and just be on vacation. They don't think of it as a real job. I just read a post on here where a radiologist and a dentist are looking to leave their careers to be regional airline pilots. WTF?
This is why the pay is low, too many guys have a fantasy of flying a jet.