Originally Posted by Speed Select

Meh. I can make $200K+ and be home every night doing another job that is a lot more stable than airline pilot.

I also don't care for the way pilots are treated. I'm not looking to be put on a pedestal by any means, but after years of flying in the military, at a regional, and now at a major, I would appreciate some professional actualization. Airline pilot lacks any real professional respect. A lot of that is our fault. We're treated and portrayed more like a bunch of Glenn Quagmires than we are Chesley Sullenbergers. Maybe airline pilot just isn't for me. Frankly, with the high level of automation, brutal 4-5 leg/day 4-days, the complete lack of influence pilots have on the operation (other than failing to show up ready to fly), groveling every time you do make a decision, having to chasedown down pay questions/disputes, the physical and psychological wall between the cockpit and the cabin, and "sprint-to-the-bottom" civility, airline pilots have been reduced to glorified button pushers. EU countries seem to have pretty good success putting pilots in the cockpit of wide bodies with just a few hundred hours of flight time, and at much lower wages. Is their safety record much different from US carriers?

Mainline wages are going to keep falling behind inflation. The purchasing power of our salaries will continue to diminish. $300K+ salaries will become more and more rare, especially in the post-CV contract negotiations. Will we see bankruptcies? More instability? I wouldn't spend a dime on civilian training to become an airline pilot. That money can be much better spent on other more-stable and equally (or near equally) lucrative careers. I certainly wouldn't leave a six-figure career to start at the bottom of a regional seniority list. We're just another pandemic, terrorist attack, war, or recession from experiencing another lost decade. Lots of risk with diminishing reward.

Yes, I have a pretty good seniority.

Anyway, pilot shortage.