jetproppilot

I can respond about the doctor part.

In certain specialties (dermatology, anesthesiology, interventional radiology, cardiothoracic surgery, etc) MDs can have starting salaries in the 350-450 range with the top of 500-600k annually.

But like a pilot's climb-to-the-big-dollars, there is sacrifice.

First, 4 years of college and 4 years of med school, during which one accumulates a large amount of debt....not uncommon now for a newly graduated doctor to emerge after these eight years with 200k of debt.

Then comes residency...4-7 years of relatively low pay (35-50k annually) where you are an apprentice...and treated as such. You are told when to be at work, what do do when you are at work, and when you can leave.

So before the big dollars comes 10-15 years of training.

And since you couldnt afford to start paying off your student loans until you hit private practice, significant interest has accumulated.


I wholeheartedly agree that after a pilot does pretty much the same thing, albeit climbing through regionals/right seat major...once you hit the left seat at United/Delta/Fed Ex etc...your pay should be high.

You guys don't make enough cash for your sacrifices and responsibilities.

As an aside, there are many doctors making 150 K a year who work very hard and also sacrificed their twentieth decade. Should make you really appreciate the pediatricians/family doctors/internal medicine dudes....

MalteseX

My brother in law is a doctor (infectious disease physician).... I am a pilot.
We are the same age (1 year apart).

We started off both with very low salaries.
After a couple of years, mine was much higher (military) vs him (medical school)
After 10 years, I was pulling in about 70K; he was just finishing up residency in infectious disease --- 35K plus massive amounts school loans.
After 20 years since undergraduate college; I pull down about $175,000 as a airline pilot for a major (one of the ones that still pay well). He is making in the neighborhood of $270,000. Of which (private practice) he pays about 60K in insurance, etc. After taxes, he is a little ahead. He has paid off his medical school and other loans; however, he has only been "saving" for a couple of years. It took nearly 18 years for him (the doc) and about 8 years for me , to start making a 'respectable' wage.

However, things have changed in the last few years. It has become increasingly harder to get these higher paying airline jobs;
additionally, the data you are seeing , regarding the higher pay, may be data obtained before all of the salary reductions of recent years.

The best way to see what the pay is --- ballpark but accurate. On this website; multiply the rate per hour by the guaranteed minimum. Look at the difference between today's date and the "hire date of the most junior captain". That will tell how long guys are being F/Os.

Remember also, that for most guys, you must start out in the regionals/smaller cargo carriers/etc as an F/O, then move to Capt. give it about 2-4 years as F/O then another 3 to 4 years as regional Capt before going to year 1 as an F/O for a major. That will give you an approximate value of an airline career.

Like the docs, if you are not military, most guys incur quite a debt load, paying for their education or pilot ratings/hours.

Good luck at whatever you decide. This was a great career--the best. It still can be very good; with a little planning and some luck thrown in. Remember, while it is no longer utopia, there are STILL some very good pilot jobs out there.....

MalteseX

I was a firefighter before I became a pilot......you can make a LOT of money. Here is the latest from Oakland CA; entry level police recruit from todays paper:

ENTRY LEVEL POLICE OFFICER I
$69,162 to $87,172 annual salary range ($62,245 while in Academy) plus shift differential, advanced degree / certification pay, and bilingual pay.
Other benefits include paid vacation and sick, holiday, and military leave; medical, dental, and vision coverage. We are under the 3% at 50 retirement plan; the City of Oakland pays the 9% PERS contribution.

bla bla bla

Here is some more positive info. Last year I made just over 16k at skywest. This is after 2years flt instructing avg 12-14k, flying about 500 hrs a year. Not bad. I made more in highschool. Ha ha. When I upgrade to captain, no cost of living increase from my company will erode probblay half of 20% pay increase. So what I have to look forward to is about 35-45 k for the next three years, then 65-75k. Away from the wife and kids 60-75 % of the month.

Uncle Bose

Sounds peachy. Where do I sign up?

Helo

In my company the A/P´s pull in an average of 80.000 a year for an approx.workweek of 46 hours.Some are getting above six figures depending on seniority and typeratings.
Starting pay after 4.5 years of apprenticeship.approx.64.000
get to go home every night, or morning depending on shift.

AAFlight52

It's a changing world. From construction workers to doctors all industries are feeling the effects of corporate greed. If anyone has friends or family in Europe or any other country outside of the US they will most likely tell you that competition for any specialized work is fierce. In Europe you will see that there are people working in food service who spent 6 years in college to become a lawyer. I see that happening in the US in the near future. Though in our present age of globalism world business is booming, these massive profits made by corporate executives are not trickling down while competition increases for jobs that aren't paying well as in the past. We need some major reform to control this out of control corporate earnings or it will only just grow worse.

vizz1

that is positive talk

SkyHigh

I blame our over stimulated education system. In the future skilled labor will be where the money is at. All of my friends who dropped out of college and entered the skilled labor market are doing well. One of them is a union heavy equipment operator and as a foreman is taking in over 100K. Another took a 8 week course to become a Heating and ventilation tech. A few years ago he started his own business and last spring he was offered 1.2 million for it. Police, firefighters, long haul truck drivers, electricians, plumbers and even my current profession of building small houses pay far better than most flying jobs.

I say skip college and go to trade school. One of my sub-contractors is a owner/operator carpet installer who earns over 120K. He has a huge house, 35K fishing boat and all the time off that he wants.


SKyHigh

SkyHigh

I too was also a firefighter before. I wish I never had left that job.


SkyHigh