Originally Posted by
Excargodog
Current starting wage for regional FOs, including bonus, is roughly the median family income in the US. That isn’t rich, but 50% of the FAMILIES in the US make less than that.
If there was no shortage, they’d all be making minimum wage, sort of like most were making five years ago:
https://youtu.be/SwKuSMVCliQ
Airline pilots should be compared to professions which require a degree, extensive/expensive post-grad training, and internship dues paying.
Regional pay is low by that standard, major pay is pretty good, in fact at the very top extreme end it has to beat almost any non-executive W-2 job.
Whether a regional job should be considered employment (under paid) or a very well-paid internship is debatable.