The mandatory retirement age increased to age 65 last year and many pilots are staying on to work past age 60. This creates stagnation in upward movement based on status quo - but the industry is anything but status quo right now.

At least 4 airlines have failed this year and many more are furloughing which dumps highly qualified labor into the pool of prospective job applicants. Starting in the fall, you'll see a sharp decrease in industry capacity which will accelerate furloughs.

The days of new pilots being hired with 250 hours and a multi-engine rating are gone and I wouldn't expect to see them again for a long long time - if ever. The entry level jobs will go to those with thousands of hours, which by-the-way, is the industry norm.

APC publishes current pay charts for many of the regional airlines. Study them and then ask yourself if you want to spend tens of thousands of dollars (as in $50K+) to grab o job that starts in the low $20K's?

From an opportunity cost perspective you'll do much better to pursue a career as a plumber.