Originally Posted by Kstoves

I gave up on the career too. That was 7 years ago. I graduated school with my ratings and then never pursued anything with it because supposedly flying didn't pay well, so many pilots were furloughed that I'd never get a job and family life is terrible.

I went into airport management instead. I was making 60k, max 401k, insanely good health benefits. My friends who were CFI's and eventually regional pilots were making half that and living their life out of a bag while I never stressed about missing bachelor parties, concerts and anything else. My 20s were a blast.

Times have changed. Now my twenties are almost over and my expenses are forecast to increase way quicker than my income. I've moved on to busier airports and sometimes I'm there 60+ hours a week. I'm still making around 60K while my friends, now 7 years later are captains at regionals or FO's at majors and making much more than I am already. Yes, they're paying their dues but still manage to have 10 days off in a row sometimes and fly for free all over the world.

Needless to say, I'm actively working on picking up where I left off! I'm hoping to catch this wave before things get as bad as they used to be