The problem is a lot of people let the romance of their dreams cloud the reality. And the reality is $150,000+ in education expenses for college and flight training, plus years of work, to start out making $15-20K year. Aviation salaries are where they were 20 years ago, but the cost of living and education is up across the board. It's not a career anymore, it's a dead job. Sadly for most the regionals will be the furthest a lot of pilots make it. I think the last real CAREER in aviation is the military, if that's a route you're interested in.

As far as schooling, GET AN ENGINEERING DEGREE. Aviation degrees are worthless outside of aviation. If you decide down the road to get out, you lose your medial, whatever, that degree will be your safety net. Plus as an engineer you're make 4-5 times more in the 10 years after college than you will as a starving pilot (military not included). With that pay you can buy your own plane and fly on your own time.

Just my opinion, and I started at the same age as you.

Future is bright because of the shortage. You just need to know what you are worth.

Executives will tell you that we worked for nothing.
Don't listen, stay strong and make sure in 2020's your pay and benefits are at least trippled from today's.

Good luck, learn from the best, don't listen to complainers, have class and constantly improve yourself.

The Kid has left the building
 

Too bad he's gone, lots of good ideas and input around here.
Kid, if you're still here, I say go for it! Good luck to you.
fbh

Someone should introduce him to Roger Cohen, I think he would put this on the cover of the RAA website.

Im quite the opposite, flipping burgers isnt something I would enjoy at any salary. I think alot of people who make aviation a career would agree its a field for those who truely have a passion for it. Why else do they go through hell for such low salary? Those who quickly realise being a pilot is not for them usually are out within the first few years. If I had to working for 16,000 a year I would probly would rather fly and building hours rather than flip burgers or sweep and mop floors. Besides 16,000 isnt going to leave me broke I have a wife who works and a few investments I made while I was deployed.

I would recommend getting a degree in engineering (since you are interested in it) and pursue aviation as well. A degree in aviation doesn't really qualify you for much outside of the field. The aviation industry is very cyclic and you are almost guaranteed to hit a bump in the road during a piloting career and having a backup plan that is viable/enjoyable is a great asset!

Continue flying and go for the gold ring there isn't a career like ours anywhere...... I love flying halfway around the globe to have breakfast in NRT with some of my best friends!

I said I WAS NOT going to flip burgers for 16k/year and I WILL NOT fly a jet for 16k/year (I made that in 3 months flying 207s), the fact that you (or anyone) would accept a job flying a jet aircraft for less than my yearly housing allowance tells me that they are willing to become an indentured servant to a company (and a bad company at that), that is just plain wrong.

I don't care how much passion you have if you don't have the desire to command a respectable salary for the time and effort you put forth to become (in this case) a commercial pilot then you've simply got stars in your eyes and are as gullible as a "teenager in love".

Your right! I dont know what AIG CEO Edward Liddy was thinking taking a position that paid 1 dollar per year, people could make 16,000 times more than him at a regional airline.

16k for your first few years, how do you know if it will increase in a few years. What would happen if management KNEW they could get replacements for 16k all the time. Would you be ****ed if I applied to where you work for 10k and you get laid off? I'm willing to work for 10k for a few years.:rolleyes:

That is exactly right. Pilots keep undercutting each other. The problem is partly because of the whole marketing gimmick of there being an "Pilot Shortage" (that is never going to happen.) The second reason why pay scales are going to go down further is because there is already an over abundance of pilots in the industry. One last idea is that technology has made the career easy to access where unexperienced pilots can simply step into the cockpit and fly a CRJ 700/900 without any difficulty.

The long term effects of having great technology not backed up by pilot skills is airplane accidents. Technology will fail occasionally and if our society chooses not to have an experienced pilot behind the control when it does then, well then I guess that is a flaw of our society. Expect fatalities.