Originally Posted by
Jetjok
Skyhigh,
For the record, here's a list of the highest paying jobs in the U.S. Granted, not all airline pilots make this as an average, nor does the list address how long it takes to be making this amount. However, you might think harder about your constant discouragement of people wanting to become commercial pilots. This list came directly from the Careerbuilder.com website.
Top Paying Jobs Overall
# Physicians and surgeons -- $147,000
# Aircraft pilots -- $133,500
# Chief executives -- $116,000
# Electrical and electronic engineers -- $112,000
# Lawyers and judges -- $99,800
# Dentists -- $90,000
# Pharmacists -- $85,500
# Management analysts -- $84,700
# Computer and information system managers -- $83,000
# Financial analysts, managers and advisors -- $84,000
# Marketing and sales managers -- $80,000
# Education administrators -- $80,000
Though many of these occupations require an advanced degree, there are jobs at every education level that pay more than other jobs for workers with similar levels of schooling. Here, courtesy of the Employment Policy Foundation, is a look at the best-paying occupations at varying education levels:
Top Paying Jobs That Do Not Require a High School Degree
These jobs tend to require substantial on-the-job training and work experience rather than formal education and schooling:
# Industrial production managers -- $36,000
# Bailiffs, correctional officers and jailers -- $36,400
# Drafters -- $36,000
# Construction manager -- $33,600
# Electricians -- $31,900
Top Paying Jobs for High School Graduates
These occupations emphasize work experience and on-the-job training rather than formal education:
# Computer software engineers -- $58,900
# Computer/information systems managers -- $56,400
# Computer programmers -- $55,000
# Network systems and data communications analysts -- $49,000
# General and operations managers -- $48,000
# Database, network and computer systems administrators -- $48,000
Top Paying Jobs for a Two-Year College Degree
The following jobs tend to be technical in nature, emphasizing skills developed on the job as well as job-specific training and certifications:
# Healthcare practitioners -- $66,000
# Business analysts -- $58,000
# Electrical and electronic engineers -- $57,000
# Mechanical engineers -- $56,800
# General and operations managers -- $54,000
# Computer and information systems managers -- $50,400
Jetjok,
I wish that were the case. Those numbers are highly suspect and do not explain how they are derived. Often they only consider the "captain" as being a "pilot" and leave out the first officers entirely. And as everyone here knows the FOs make up 48% of airline pilots. If you were
only to consider major airline captain wages then that number makes sense. However if you were to add in every pilot from CFI to UPS captains then the average is much much lower.
Additionally as the current generation of pilots move on future ones will have a hard time coming even close to what former pilots earned. When addressing new prospective pilots it is key to consider the earning potential over
next 40 years. Their prospects are not so rosy. One time I found a number at a government labor web site that suggested that 30K was the national average for all commercial pilots. I will try and find that site again for you.
In any case wages, benefits and working conditions for airline pilots are falling. Others here have mentioned that in 1978 a USAir 737 captain made the equivalent of 420K and the FO made 250K. In addition they worked much less and had a better benefits package overall. Currently USAir pilots make around 30% of what they use to. The story is similar throughout the industry. A few are able to top 100K after many years of risk and sacrifice. However the profession is only a shadow of what it once was and still has a long way to go before reaching bottom.
Another thing to consider is quality of life, overall earning potential and benefits. A mailman has the future potential of earning more than
most airline pilots when you consider that they can start with just a high school diploma at 18, make a good wage from the beginning, do not have to move all the time and do not have to fund their own retirements. They can buy a house much sooner and earn a good wage for the cost of entry. A typical airline pilot in comparison has to invest a small fortune to get educated and trained only then to suffer for possibly decades of low wages and furloughs before finally blasting through 100K only to have the government take much of the the excesses in taxes. A better plan is to make 50K from the beginning and slowly creep up over the years.
Skyhigh