Originally Posted by
rooinek
Had the same mentality: "If I go to X airline it would take me Y years to catch up on income from what I make at my regional". Even made a spreadsheet for it and turned down Frontier, Spirit, Atlas and Virgin. I decided I was only going to go to an airline that would offer an actual jump in pay. Then the DAL interview came and I wasn't hired. I thought it went well, I'm qualified, none of the others were more competent or better candidates, just the wrong interviewers on the wrong day I guess. Now considering JB as an option. The rest of the legacies may never call. Don't forget how much luck is involved in this career. Average pilot pay in 2016 at JB was ~$150k. Yes, at DAL it was ~$228k, but $150k is still way more than I can earn as a regional pilot.
Source:
Airline Data Project
First year pay stinks, that is for sure. I’ve had that conversation with plenty of guys. Try not to think about first year pay, think about your last years pay. You aren’t giving up $30k by going to a new carrier in your first year, you are giving up $300,000 in your last if you turn down a decent job to stay at your regional. Think of it as a cost of doing business.