Originally Posted by ImSoSuss

Just as advetised, i present to you the company stooges I broke

Originally Posted by ImSoSuss

Just as advetised, i present to you the company stooges I broke

Originally Posted by ImSoSuss

Just as advetised, i present to you the company stooges I broke

Originally Posted by HastyPack

I think there is more than just the ‘vacuum’ that is being painted here. Yes, in the most advantageous time in aviation history, a person can become an airline pilot quickly, compared to the past. If we are comparing this profession to other wage earning leaders like doctors and lawyers, we have to start the race at the same time and place, 18 years old.

Doctors: 4 years undergraduate. 4 years medical school. 3 years of residency (unless hyper specialized like 4 years for OBGYN or 5 years for surgery plus potential 1-3 year fellowships). 8 years unpaid with $250k of debt.

Lawyer: 4 years of undergraduate. 3 years of law school. 7 years unpaid with $160k of debt.

For someone that wants to be an airline pilot, there are 3 heavily taken paths. Not worth going down the hundreds of 1s and 2s bunny trails.

A: 4 year undergraduate at an aviation university (ERAU, UND, etc.). Then to a regional under R-ATP qualifications but with $150k-$200k of debt, not everyone is fortunate to have a trust fund.

B: 4 year undergraduate then 2 years of military flight school and then a 10 year military ADSO. No debt but I would argue time is more valuable than money.

C: No college, just racking up debt and receiving flight instruction from ATP and then staying on as an instructor. $100k-$120k of debt for the program and cost of living. This also doesn’t qualify for R-ATP so this person would have to wait 5 years for the age of 23.

The two biggest factors that are being overlooked in the comments above are the aviation medical and not having the phobias (claustrophobia, acrophobia, and any other unique ones). Medicals and Phobias would disqualify a large percentage of the population that even had the aptitude to pass the training but also the hand-eye coordination for the technical aspect.

TLDR: I believe that the wages currently being proposed reflect the time and financial sacrifices that pilots have made for the career. These pilots also are fortunate to be healthy enough to pass the aviation medical (unfortunately 10-15% will eventually go on LTD before 65) and are fortunate enough to not have phobias (claustrophobia, acrophobia, or other unique phobias) that would be in conflict of performing the job.

Originally Posted by TankerDriver

Not sure where you're getting your "debt" figures from, but maybe you got them out of a 1980's era college guide. I am sure there are many cheap ways to become a doctor, but medical school ALONE is near $100k PER YEAR in the US at any reputable school.

Originally Posted by ImSoSuss

Just as advetised, i present to you the company stooges I broke