BoilerUP

Speak for yourself.

I was married with a wife working a sub-40k/yr job, living in an expensive DC exurb for over a year, and yet somehow was able to contribute 10% to my 401k and put 10% in cash savings as a regional airline FO while paying $500+/mo in student loan debt (not to mention my wife's).

At AWAC, I made $25k my first year and was on track to make $45k my second year...and I was FAR from being an OT *****.

It can be done people...and its not that hard to do so.

flynavyj

It can be done, it's also much easier to do at the higher tier regionals that pay their pilots "respectable" wages by year two. For the guys at the lower tier regionals, you can expect to be creeping into the 30k range in 2-3 years....and will top out there till the upgrade rolls around the corner.

$$ aren't everything though, atleast in terms of salary. I was making 62k/yr as a CA. 35k/yr as an FO on 3rd year TSA pay. My new job has me on first year salary of 55k/yr, but even though i got a $20k pay raise, the taxes and lack of any perdiem make the paychecks only slightly greater than my FO salary. So most of the increase is unrealized when it comes to finances. On the other hand, knowing my pay raises, performance bonuses, and cost of living increases, not to mention long term job security and being home daily...Things can help offset some of the differences.

Copperhed51

Well, I make a little less than $16k/yr, live in my mom's basement, and I've been furloughed once already in my short career if that tells you anything. I want to move out desperately but can't afford to go anywhere I want to. I am not saving any money currently. I am looking for jobs elsewhere, as are most of the people I've spoken to recently at my company.

Tumbleweed

I think there should be something said about timing. It is important to do your homework and pick the right company to work for but you also want to luck out and be at the beginning of a big hiring spree. Growth and attrition help you accrue seniority to hold a decent line and perhaps upgrade in a reasonable amount of time. Right now a lot of people are unhappy because this game of "musical chairs" has come to an abrupt end and a lot of people are not thrilled about being stuck or worse... left with no seat to sit in (ie. furloughed). I am fortunate to be where I am but this gig isn't the end game for me. I wouldn't recommend making a career out of a commute to a regional. Even a career of commuting to the majors is beginning to seem a little insane when you consider how many weeks of lost time you're losing a year. The problem is that you just can't quantify the quality of life issues. For pilots, it seems like a lot of us get hung up on the dollar per hour figures and neglect the quality of life issues.

goaround2000

There are two answers to your question. Yes we do not make enough to compensate for the sacrifices we make everyday, or the ones we made to get here.

That being said, at XJT for instance I made over 30K my first year (worked a lot), year two was around 45K. Now back in the right seat close to 50K. It depends on how much you work, your seniority, whether you're a line holder or reserve, do you live in base or commute, your contract (this one is very important), overall there are a number of factors. I know a couple of senior F/O's that pull around 60K a year, but they work the contract, and still manage to have 13-14 days off a month. I hold about 16 days off a month, and as I mentioned, this year should be a little over 50K.

On the captain side it varies between 70-100k again depending on all the above factors. So you decide, is it enough? What do you think?

Purpleanga

While this may look good, people have to take into account that XJT has furloughed hundreds of pilots meaning this is a senior FO that's been through ups and downs. The higher pay for regional pilots means more than likely that you are a lifer. This is not the norm. Most FOs do not make 50K at a regional probably even if they top out. Another point is that the objective of this game is to get paid the most and fly as little. What good is getting top pay if you have no life flying all month?

goaround2000

Actually you're incorrect in your assumptions. A great number of us are/were swimming in the pool at different companies, then the wind began to shift. What I'm trying to tell you is that good pay rates have nothing to do with a person's desire to stay at a regional or leave, particularly in the case of F/O's. It has however everything to do with a good contract.

The guys that I know that are pulling 60K a year from the right seat are indeed downgrades, as so are many here, yet they can still be home 13-14 days a month. In my personal case I enjoy 16 days off a month on average, and because we have really good work rules in addition to descent pay (above industry average which doesn't say much!) I'm able to still make a decent living. Furthermore, the majority of our F/O's who are line holders are on 4 year pay already, when you take pay with an average of 80-85 hours per month (not October of course), and $400-500 in per diem you still get close to 45K, and that's without making much of an effort. Granted under different circumstances, all of us would be flying left seat or somewhere else already, but good pay in stagnant times has a lot less to do with seniority, and everything to do with a good contract.

Don't believe me? Ask the 4 F/O's at places where they're not protected for cancellations how much they make a year? What about the guys that don't get full pay for deadheads? What about the guys that don't get block or better? Oh and by the way, most F/O's at most regionals have been around at least 2-3 years already. Again, how many of them average 45-50K a year? It's all about the contract.

Purpleanga

No kidding! Your buddies(who are not downgraded) are on 4th year and are pushing 45K!!!!!!!!!!, and... with out making much effort too........................... CONGRATULATIONS. And this is at a premier contract regional kids. All of this can be yours with the price of earning your licenses the same amount it would take to get a degree and to actually go to a field where you start at 45K first year and have a reasonable career and monetary compensation till you retire. What a joke. Don't you just hate it when RJ FOs are happy with 40k and 15 days off(gone half the year) when you hear of your college buddies making 70K putting up Mercedes car payments their first year for rearranging files in an office 5 days a week while staying home every night?

goaround2000

Sorry things didn't work out for you. Again, you may want to work on your reading skills, you've misquoted my posts twice. Furthermore, you really don't know anything about me, and I did say 16 days and 50K, which is hardly what I expected to make at this point in my career (particularly since I'm swimming elsewhere), but during these stagnant times, it certainly beats the regionals without any protections and poor contracts. Seems to me from your posts that you regret your decision to pursue this career, and frankly it's not for everybody.

Best of luck.

For the OP, a good contract equals better pay and rules, but certainly not what we deserve. We're still a ways from that, but if you're crazy enough to get into this industry then pick a company with a good contract. When it's all said and done it could make the difference between paying your bills comfortably, or moving in with your folks.

Purpleanga

You are the one that keeps posting about how much you make. All I am saying is that is not the norm. And the other point is that you seem happy about it since you are only gone half the month which doesn't mean much since other jobs you are home every day of the month. You are a 4 or 5th year professional airline pilot that is still making less than a bus driver. Typical argument about decision of pursuing this career as well, we are talking about pay here not whether being a pilot sucks or not.