Since we're on the subject of pay comparisons and the question of what is or is not good money, I'll post my recent experience.....

I usually do most of my own home mx and improvements. Occationally I call a professional when the project is beyond my knowledge/experience level or there is risk of bodily injury (can't lose that medical). Such was the case recently when I called an electrician to install 2 new 240v circuits for my shop. Converted to a daily rate, his fee was DOUBLE what I earn for a day's work with the military reserve, and TRIPLE what I earn for a day as an AAI FO.

To boot, he was a customer at the bank where my wife works and did the work on his own time at a discounted rate. I had two quotes prior to the work being done from other companies at full price and, had I contracted with them, the bill would have been FOUR TIMES my daily FO pay (again, converted to a daily rate).

Take from that what you will.

 

I agree, I also agree that I think we as pilots SHOULD make more BUT....If you can't be happy on Whatever it is that you make there are likely some other problems in your life / relationship. I think to many people REGARDLESS of profession think they should live in a 10,000 sq ft house and drive a Bentley.....maybe that is why there are a record amount of foreclosures too.

I guess what I am saying is that a strong man (person....can't forget the ladies ) Will find a way to provide for their family, and yes the pilot profession EVEN with the low pay of the regionals is well above the median pay for the U.S. ...For those of you that think not, maybe you should ask someone you work with to show you how to use the search function on your computer.
This doesn't mean that the compensation is where I or many of us think it should be, Just that maybe some people should learn to conserve a little until we can bring some of the contracts back up to what they should be.

Oh and happy Cinco de Mayo to all. I hope your hotel had specials on Tequilla tooo since we are all near poverty

 

Pay should be the last thing that pilots today should be thinking about. Just remember, "HELLO"...... you are getting PAID to fly a plane. The opportunity to fly is reward enough.

Having a family and flying is like a married monk. Doesnt work out so good. I found a way to support my family. I left aviation and it took a lot of personal fortitude to do it.

The proper attitude today is to go into flying with the knowlege that you will be poor, you will be laid off many times, you will live a loner life. And, Hey, if things turn out for the better then good for you.


SkyHigh

 

Man I miss flying but I don't miss being gone all the time, the humiliating wages and treatment by management, and bleak future.

It is great to be home and to finally be making a Grown Up real wage. It feels good to be able to hold my head up when amongst peers at social gatherings. It is greatly satisfying to be able to accomplish goals at my own pace and not have to rely on outside forces to determine my advancement.

I like being able to look at a new car and think "hey one day I could own one too". It pleases me that I am able to plan family events with others and actually be there as well. I am proud to be able to provide adequately for my wife and children. It warms my heart to think that my kids have a good home, good school to go to and that they will most likely we will never be forced to leave our home town again.

I miss flying and hopefully will find a way back one day but there is no better aviation career killer than success in another line of work. It makes you realise how difficult it is to be a pilot and how much you really do sacrifice in the process.

SkyHigh

 

Sky,
If you really want to depress yourself, go to www.flyertalk.com, then to the AAdvantage forum, then to the thread about AA pilots demanding a 30.5% payraise. Interesting to see how many people think pilots are greedy, yet they defend management bonuses. I almost had a stroke reading that stuff the other day.

 

Your "challenge" was basically to find a decent home for less than 450K in a safe neighborhood. I took it to an extreme and found one for 1/3.

No, there is no country club membership included and you might have to cut your own lawn. Seriously, do you recognize that your are coming off as a little bit superior? Do you really believe that you are so much more important than the rest of society? Let them eat cake, right?

And you wonder why "civilians" don't side with us during the public contract battles...

 

this thread is never going to end

 

I used to think that you were overly pessimistic, but after reading the posts from all these losers who make 20k and live in their parents' basements, I'm not so sure. These 20-something year-old children have no idea what is required to raise a family in a good area. They think 50k is a lot of money, and that the pilots who think that they rate more are elitist snobs. I wonder whether they notice that the only people who agree with them on these boards are fellow childless hobbyists in their early to mid-twenties. Why should they listen to all the guys with families who have been flying for decades?

 

You have some balls talking like that. You start at the bottom and work your way up. 20 something is a bad spot to be at starting at the bottom? What are you smoking? I know exactly what it takes to raise a family in a good area which is exactly why I'm not starting one. Its those that have a wife and kids that might need to think twice and even then it's their choice and I know several who are very happy doing it. Why shouldn't I listen to someone who has a family and been flying for decades? I do. They're proud of me and tell me to keep it up. They tell me they were CFI's and worked the ladder just like I'm doing. I, as well as others, don't listen to someone of the likes of you because frankly you speak like the village idiot. Go stand on a street corner holding a sign saying the world's ending.

I'm a 20 something guy who was a CFI and I've never wanted to do anything else. You speak like we all have a family with 6 kids and are neglecting them which is completely false. Do you even know what 2nd Lt. pay is? I make as much as they do. Last year I actually made more than they did. I had about 30 of them as students and compared pay. Going to go call them losers? Best thing you could do is shut your mouth. I can't believe a military pilot has the audacity to make statements like that.

 

Sky, You talk about all the doom and gloom, but please correct me if I'm wrong, you never flew for a Major carrier right? Of course your life would suck if you entire career was at a regional (even horizon). Its really hard to take all of your experiences into account when you haven't been with a Major.