SkyHigh

Thanks for the information. I am not personally interested in driving a truck but iit is nice to know that they average more than a new hire at most airlines.

SkyHigh

SkyHigh

What I am saying is that if two guys were to start out a 19. Each with nothing in life to their name. The guy who chose to drive truck would most likely be financially better off assuming both had good financial habits.

The guy who chose the truck would start to work immediately at a good salary for a guy just out of high school.

The pilot guy would have to spend four years in college plus all the added expenses of flight training. Then he would have a few years of low wages climbing the ladder. Eventually he would pass the trucker around year 8 (lets hope) but then he still would be dragging along the debt he accumulated from college and flight school so in the end the pilot would be behind.

The hope that we all cling to is making the jump to one of the big three airlines. (The legacies are not such a hot prospect anymore) However as I proved earlier getting on with SWA, UPS or FedEx is very a difficult thing to do.

In the end the pilot guy would most likely have to consign himself to a regional and in 15 to 20 years would get that loan paid off. After that things begin to get better so long as he does not get laid off, furloughed, mergered out of existence, or has a medical problem.

SkyHigh

LineTroll

I am not quite sure I follow you. You are comparing average pay for ALL truck drivers no matter where they are in their career to a first year airline pilot. This is not a fair comparison.

It would be better to compare the average pay of all pilots (which sucks because it is not included in that list). I'm not going to speculate the average pay for pilots because I honestly don't know.

But I will point out that the average pay in a lot of fields requiring college isn't as high as you are saying they should be, and comparing them to "blue collar" jobs you will see the spread between the two is only about 20,000 in either direction.

I think you are focusing too much on the first few years of the job. You make a good point with initial investment though, as flight training is getting very expensive. But I don't think it is a very credible statement to say that being a pilot means you wont be able to support a family or yourself. Besides, straight pay isn't the only way you can make money.

LineTroll

Also, I think you aren't factoring in multiple incomes. Combined income can turn that 70k a year into 150k+. Supporting a family no longer comes from one source.

SkyHigh

I am referring to the post I made that started this whole thread in regards to trucker pay. The news claimed 40K as a starting salary for truckers with zero training or experience.

I also was making a point as to why would someone invest a small fortune in college and training to get a job that hardly pays more than common professions? You mentioned working two jobs as a solution. Why should someone be expected to spend the cost of a starter home in college and flight training to have to work two jobs?

I think it is important for people to measure how much this career can really cost them.

SkyHigh

LineTroll

Oh I didn't mean working two jobs I meant both husband and wife having careers.

Plus starting salary for a pilot is $50,000+ through the news' perspective (at Net Jets ).

SkyHigh

Starting salary at most legacies are well under 40K. UAL is 24K per year. In addition those really are not the type of jobs that pilots start at. Usually it takes years of low wage jobs to build experience to reach a job like NetJets.

SkyHigh

Radials Rule

uh, I still don't see this assertion supported in your "work".