Quote:
Originally Posted by Baronpilot
Well, I can tell you probably one of the reasons there is a shortage is because almost no one is training to fly. The flight school where I work is at a small FBO, but just 3 years ago we had 80 students graduate through the various certificates and ratings. Sadly, we currently have around 15 students. 13 of them are doctors and lawyers who are getting their license to fly on weekends. The training costs are just too much for a lot of people to handle.
It's hard to admit it but it's true. I was signed up to join ATP this December but after further investigation into a pilot's life style and pay I have decided against it. Making $20,000 per year for the 1st 1 to 5 years is hard to imagine, especially if you have loan payments to make. I love flying with all of my heart but I also like to have food in my mouth, and be able to take my girlfriend out on a date every so often. Now I'm interviewing for a management position with a local distribution company with starting pay above $60,000 per year. I'm planning on flying gliders on the weekends. This way I can still live the dream of flying and not have to worry about how I'm going to feed myself for the next few years. If I had to live in poverty to fly it would take away the fun of it.
I'm not sure what the solution is for pilots. I do believe that things will get better. With the cost of flight school going up and the pay scales at the airlines being so low there are going to be more guys like myself that just aren't willing to do it. The biggest problem is that life is getting harder in general for everyone, more and more people have the mentality that "what the hell I should go for my dreams". They don't think about the reality of the situation. The only way pay is going to get better is to decrease the supply of pilots. One down a few hundred thousand to go.