Looking at RickAir7777's post, I thought it would be interesting to throw out some pay numbers from an actual career beginning in 1980. Let's just say it's a friend of mine. I did my flight training in the 70's, I also worked for a small scheduled airline as a ramper/fueler. Every pilot or instructor I ever talked to about a flying career said the same thing: "don't do this for the money."

Age 22 CFI 11K
Age 23-26 Alaska 19.4K
Age 27-39 Regional FO 1 yr, Capt 12 yrs 37.3K
Age 40-47 Major FE 1 yr, FO 7 yrs 79.3K

Total so far 1.84 Million

12 more years to retirement, at the current pay level another 950K which totals 2.79 Million for the career.

I'm not sure what, if any, relevance the above info has for anyone else. I have friends who started flying careers at the same time and who have probably earned 50% more so far, others who left aviation 20 years ago. The opportunities (or lack thereof) for someone starting in 1990, 2000 or 2006 are dramatically different, too. Nevertheless, I thought some actual numbers would be interesting.