Originally Posted by LifetimeCFI

What this person said. First of all: comparison is the thief of joy. Some guys timed it nicely but we can't control that. Some people didn't do anything other than aviation prior to their airline careers and it shows. Some of us can't or couldn't control that. These same folks want to make it sound like they're special for having gotten lucky timing, when in reality your career earnings will generally be comparable.

Can you drive to work at Delta? Will the paychecks show? Great. Enjoy the long career and don't look back. "You'll be junior to X people hired since YYYY year" is the crap that people say to justify staying at their non-legacy employer (like my own), and hell - no shame in that! Those are good places to work. And I understand why folks choose not to move on, sometimes. But don't let their personal fears or decisions sway your own. A 34 year legacy career is insane. Yeah you won't do 15 years of WBA flying, you'll still earn a good living. Upgrade times on widget show about 8 years to jr upgrade but that assumes no growth. Sure some 25 year old nepo hire in 2021 got to upgrade in a year..so what? So should all the mil guys in their mid-upper 30s give up because they wont have the golden ticket to 10+ years in WBA?

I'm so tired of this mentality from people online. You and I are similar ages.. I used to stress about what I'd retire at at one of the legacies, I simply don't care anymore. The pay will be more than fine, the stability hopefully there, and I'll be able to drive to work in one of the two or three cities I'd love to live in. Seems like that should be enough.