Originally Posted by HastyPack

LOL, yes the 737. That’s IF they made it past the 145 though. Guess the 145 is of the ‘old days’ now.

Originally Posted by BrazilBusDriver

Idk, man. Obligatory not at AA, but I troll here cause it's on the radar.

It's a hard job to learn but a relatively easier one to do. Yeah you deal with fatigue and weather, questionable dispatchers, penny pinching managers, etc. But it's fundamentally a top 10 paying job that happens to be an individual contributor role and is generally paid hourly vs salaried due to the prevalence of unions. I came back from white collar managerial-type work in IT. I will never return to that unless or until I go back to making food stamp wages as a pilot.

I only got to be a Captain for about 6 months at the regional before it went tits up, so maybe there's something I'm missing...but it was far and away the best, most fulfilling job I ever had. I made far more challenging and honestly intellectually and emotionally draining managerial decisions as a military officer/IT manager with almost no autonomy and questionable purpose/impact. Maybe the weird things we worry about as pilots (fuel planning, weather/diversions, non-normals, dealing with a handful of cabin crew, etc) just appeal to my personality. I don't find those "stressors" taking it out of me the way I did attending 25 hours of useless meetings a week that should have been an email and managing larger groups of people. The only thing I really have a tough time dealing with is multiple nights on duty that infringe on the WOCL.

I feel like pilots are very well paid for what we do. At least now - that wasn't the case when I left the industry in 2008. With that being said, f#ck 'em, let's get more. Hopefully you guys get the TA you deserve.

Originally Posted by Waitwait

if you could name one job that requires same or similar skill level / responsibility / qualifications and pays same or less I’d love to know. You have an uninformed opinion with all the respect, If you think a 12 year AA DL UAL Captain should make less than the top 50% dentist ,dermatologist ,lawyer at any major US city then ok…

Originally Posted by JulesWinfield

How long do you think it takes to become a doctor? They have to go to school for 7-8 years before starting their residency. There’s lots of jobs that require advanced degrees and experiences that pay less. You need a GED and less than 2 years to become an airline pilot.

Originally Posted by Fly76

I will say these days can be a lot faster. Let’s say no degree so no restricted ATP.

10-12 months 0 to hero. You can then instruct or skip CFI get a low pilot job like banner towing or many options these days and fly your ass. 1500 now can get you straight to a major (Spirit, Frontier, ACMI) and then get picked up pretty quick at 2000 hours by a legacy. It’s a different world now.

Originally Posted by ImSoSuss

Tell the thousands of 1500 hour Part 135/91 and CFIs pilots out there who can't get hired by a Regional to save their lives. A few can go to a ULCC if they get their ATP on their own. But it is not as many as you think. Or are you that out of touch with what is actually going on right now?

Originally Posted by Waitwait

if you could name one job that requires same or similar skill level / responsibility / qualifications and pays same or less I’d love to know. You have an uninformed opinion with all the respect, If you think a 12 year AA DL UAL Captain should make less than the top 50% dentist ,dermatologist ,lawyer at any major US city then ok…

Originally Posted by EskimoJet

well it is because the field is highly regulated unlike becoming an airline pilot. one could become a good doctor within a year, but the medical field won't allow that. They know how to protect their profession and pay.

There's a reason airline pilots in other countries are in the top 1% earners, but here we lag.

Originally Posted by ImSoSuss

Well, that's 7-8 years too innit? Also a Doctor can make more than a pilot. Much more. The same goes for a Lawyer or any of the other examples give, airline pilot pay is very capped in comparison. Example failed.

Originally Posted by GhettoJet

About a year ago I was jumpseating and started talking to the working crew. Turned out that the FO working that flight actually is a doctor in addition to flying for AA. He said he was flying full time and working in medicine part time and that pilots (at least at legacy carriers) have better pay and benefits. I'm guessing he's still out there flying because he looked a good bit younger than me.