Yes, There’s a Pilot Shortage: Salaries Start at $21,000

For a &quot;business&quot; publication, Businessweek seems to have dropped the ball on basic economics here: there&#x27;s fewer pilots available to work at the wages regionals want to pay, but that&#x27;s not a &quot;shortage&quot;, that&#x27;s the market expressing a preference for higher pay.<p>See also the yoyos whining about a &quot;skilled-worker shortage&quot; when then actually mean &quot;we can&#x27;t hire experienced machinists for $10&#x2F;hr!&quot;.

Here&#x27;s a great summary of what&#x27;s involved by askcaptainscott on YouTube: Can I be an airline pilot if I start training in my 30s? <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJk9Skxyi84" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=WJk9Skxyi84</a><p>I&#x27;m far from an expert on air travel, but my understanding is that the regional airlines have become the backbone of budget US travel, and have a huge role in this salary gap (between regionals and non-regionals).<p>Frontline did a great piece on the regional airlines, focusing on safety problems called &quot;Flying Cheap&quot; - <a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/1412744270/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;video.pbs.org&#x2F;video&#x2F;1412744270&#x2F;</a>

OMG. 21000$&#x2F;year? Are your kidding?!<p>Welcome to the former USSR:<p>civil aviation pilot: about 200,000 - 300,000 russian rubles monthly (5700 - 8500 $ &#x2F; monthly). Aeroflot pays even more. (<a href="http://otvet.mail.ru/question/89104947/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;otvet.mail.ru&#x2F;question&#x2F;89104947&#x2F;</a>). 68000-102000$ yearly. And that&#x27;s after taxes.<p>Dictatorship Belarus: 7000-8000 &#x2F; monthly (84000-96000$ yearly). After taxes. (<a href="http://charter97.org/ru/news/2011/12/6/45448/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;charter97.org&#x2F;ru&#x2F;news&#x2F;2011&#x2F;12&#x2F;6&#x2F;45448&#x2F;</a>)

Is it possible for a 22-year old kid to be a pilot without going to the military in the US? I would imagine Delta doesn&#x27;t train people off the streets.<p>In that case, wouldn&#x27;t it be worth just sticking around in the armed forces, making more than $21k&#x2F;yr and getting all the benefits that go along with it?

It can be quite a bit different in Europe. In the US, you get to be an airline pilot either via a) military or b) years of hard graft and low-pay regional carriers.<p>Compare this to a recent &quot;Future Pilot&quot; program that British Airways runs: <a href="http://www.britishairways.com/careers/futurepilot/futurepilot_home.shtml" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.britishairways.com&#x2F;careers&#x2F;futurepilot&#x2F;futurepilo...</a><p>They need pilots, and even help fund a guaranteed loan for applicants that don&#x27;t have the direct cash for the training fees. And from what I understand the salaries aren&#x27;t that bad once you&#x27;re flying for them.

My brother would love to hear this news (not). He&#x27;s just been hired as a pilot. Not, luckily, in the US.<p>Surely the cost of running a plane is vastly larger than the cost of a pilot&#x27;s salary?

That&#x27;s the median for a bus driver

I think this is pretty common for any industry. Experience gains salary. The fact that it is a flying machine doesn&#x27;t really change that much. It seems that the regionals are serving as a training pool for the larger carriers to draw from. I wouldnt call that a ponzi scheme, but unions can create unnatural salary gaps. Is the problem that people feel they are putting their life in the hands of someone paid 21k? That happens with any form mass transit.

How much do they earn in China?<p>Wouldn&#x27;t be at all surprised that they have a ton of experienced pilots, but earning more than $21,000.<p>Is this some kind of &#x27;trickle up effect&#x27; where cutting salaries at the bottom has squeezed those in the middle?

If there is a shortage, are the mechanisms of capitalism not supposed to make the salaries higher?

No wonder I don&#x27;t feel safe flying those airlines. Not only are many of their jets 20+ years old, but I also wouldn&#x27;t feel safe flying with someone willing to work for 21K in a job that literally has the lives of people in their hands.

I know quite a few pilots who have dropped £70k+ on getting licensed up. Some barely get £25k&#x2F;year. Others make £150k-£200k&#x2F;year.<p>It really depends on how good you are and who you know.

OP here. So is this a grad student&#x2F;resident&#x2F;apprentice type arrangement? If so, seems like one of the less worthwhile ones.

Pilots should really never be skimped on.

I have a friend who was a personal pilot. He makes more now as a mid-western Radio DJ...with better hours.

Is there no H1B program for regional airline pilots? Becuase it works wonderfully in Corporate IT.

The airlines need to investigate the H-1B visa.<p>[shudder]

I thought $21k were monthly.