Now there is an interesting concept. Many trade unions have apprenticeship programs. Electricians for example at a ship yard near where I live.... hire apprentice electricians... they split their time between doing grunt work in the yard and class work over a 2-3 year period at which time they become full union members with seniority at the bottom but making much more than they did as an apprentice.

The problem to some extent is with the regulations which allow a 121 FO to basically have nothing more than a wet commercial ME ticket. If the FARs required an ATP even in the right seat that would at least be a start. Further complicating matters is the vast number of ways to get experience in aviation.

Couple that fact with how easy it really is to acquire even an ATP well, there you have it. Perhaps if the system was tougher and fewer people qualified... supply would fall...demand would increase and theoretically so would compensation. The unfortunate side is that other than the military ... learning to fly is a business...... and frankly how many CFI's have ever told a student..."you just are not cut out for this"... and refused to continue working on their PPL, or Commercial or instrument rating. NO... the buck speaks and the boss says as long as he is willing to pay... take him up and fly him. Last year I was introduced to a young man who was working on his PPL.... he had 34 hours in a 172 over the previous 4 weeks... and had YET to solo..... Maybe I am in the minority here.... but something tells me that guy may not be the best guy to be a professional pilot... and his intention was to do just that. Just my opinion.