If you were flying professionally during the last 20 years you had the correct timing. Especially in the 90's. What you chose to do with it was your own business.

My choice was to get hired by Alaska Airlines when I was still in my 20's. Things did not exactly turn out like I planed them to. We do not have control over most of what happens in aviation.

SkyHigh

I promised some #'s awhile back looks like ALPA has already done the work. APM145 steered me to the website clearedtodream.org.

I copied & pasted a few bits from the website enjoy. If you can bear ouch.



" • The average ALPA legacy captain is 52 years old with 21 years of service and earns about $155,000 annually.
• The average ALPA non-legacy captain is 49 years old with 16 years of service and earns about $144,000 annually.
• The average ALPA regional captain is 40 years old with 10 years of service and earns about $70,000 annually.
• The average ALPA cargo captain is 51 years old with 17 years of service and earns about $200,000 annually."

"• The average ALPA legacy first officer is 45 years old with 12 years of service and a yearly salary of about $105,000.
• The average ALPA non-legacy first officer is 42 years old with 6 years of service and a yearly salary of about $83,000.
• The average ALPA regional first officer is 32 years old with 3 years of service and a yearly salary of about $33,000.
• The average ALPA cargo first officer is 45 years old with 7 years of service and a yearly salary of about $121,000."

Ouch? I might work 250+ duty hours a month and on some months may spend the same amount of time at least "away from base" and most of the numbers above are more than I make with less years of work *experience*

USMCFLYR

I'm sorry to hear that. Course you get housing allowances medical etc. and fly an F-18 it's still not enough though. Especially considering your expertise and sacrifice. Best of luck.

We would all like more of course....but I'm not complaining. I am very fortunate right now - and have been fortunate in the past. I chose this profession, was lucky enough to end up where I did through hard work, perseverence, and some luck sprinkled on top; but I was looking at soley the pay -vs- experience aspect of the informative post above and I was also just comparing the post's average salaries with a military LES. I'm sure that there are many other details on both sides of the fence that would change the numbers at least slightly.

USMCFLYR

Keep in mind that there are plenty of people out there, in non flying jobs, wishing they made $70K, or $87K. There are plenty of people out there right now, just like pilots, struggling, or recently laid off, with no job prospects, at the moment. The grass isn't really any greener. If you don't like the airline pilot career, due to the lifestyle, that is all good, as it isn't for everybody. BUT, realistically, from an income standpoint, if anybody thinks that the average American is making six figures, or even $70-80K, you are wrong. If it were that easy to make so much money, than we wouldn't be in the economic mess we are in, and people wouldn't be worried about losing their jobs, because that six figure job is right there, waiting for them.

You might can get a job making $35-40K right from the start, working for a bank, but where are you, in that job, 5-10 years down the road? Realistically, probably not making six figures. I know tons of people who work out there in corporate America, who are struggling to climb the corporate ladder, who have been working in their respective careers for 10+ years, and are pulling down the same kind of salaries that young 20-something RJ captains are making, after just several years.

There are ups and downs in any career. The airline pilot career isn't all rosey, and glamerous, like some may think, and it may not be the $500K/year career some seem to obviously have gotten into it for, but it isn't any more worse off than the average American, in their careers, either. Do a quick google of average American salaries, and you may be surprised; some of you seem to think that huge salaries, and stable jobs are plentiful in the non flying world. A lot of people are wishing that was true, at the moment.

My MBA counterparts have significantly out earned myself thru the years. Time will tell if I ever catch up on the QOL & compensation equation. Given education & skill set requirements for the job I don't think pilots are average american workers but that's just me.