Originally Posted by
AirRider
You want to be at a Major by age 30. This is assuming the airline does not go under. That will give you ten years to upgrade to captain. At age 40 you will be a low end captain. By age 50 you will be a high seniority captain at max pay or near max pay. Then you have 10-15 years to have max pay with a great schedule. If you dont make it by about age 35 it probably wont be worth the sacrifice...Just my personal opinion when you look at it strictly by the sacrafice vs. reward.
However the corporate world is always up in the air when it comes to finacial success. Which is where I would advise someone who has bad luck in the airline industry to go.
Actually, just to show the other side of the fence (right now), United has 11 year F/Os still on furlough and most 10 year Delta guys are Narrowbody F/Os so this is a little optimistic (Even SWA - right now top of the heap pax pay scale wise has stagnated/stopped their progression and guys I know there freely admit they are overstaffed). So make sure you enjoy what you're doing on you way to a major. 15 years ago (not that long) Cargo (FEDEX/UPS) were considered also rans amongst most applicants (still do a LOT of back side of the clock flying), then they were the hottest thing (highest paying) and now UPS on pilots on the street. Bottom line -good job (travel, decent pay), terrible career - your skills are not transferable (as in real professional civilian jobs) - if you leave/get furloughed and decide to go elsewhere you start at the bottom again - e.g. many guys furloughed at Delta/United went to UPS/SWA and now they're stuck at the bottom with no progression in sight.
Good Luck.
