Plenty of guys at OO are pulling down well over 130k. I'll break 6 figures next year on 6th year pay. Sim guys pull in north of 200k. Still couldn't get me to stay. Do the math on the retirement, although 20+ year guys get 10% now, the landslide get huge after a couple years. Not to mention QOL, which is everything to me.
In your experience, why are some pilots are regionals “lifers?”
- Thread starter BaronPete
- Start date
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
I had to bust ass to do that (and did do that) on Step 5, and then I thought better of it.
Haven't bothered to do the math, but off first year pay at the Magic Bus far outpaces anything that SKW could have reasonably paid me short of selling my soul to the devil I mean going into the sim world. And I don't have to bust ass to do it.
(First year sucks, but so it is, and so it goes.)
GypsyPilot
Mohawk Town
The sim guys that are doing that work their butts off though. I went to high school with one of the DEN sim guys, and we’re both around 40. He told me last year that he could never leave SkyWest because he’s making $200k. However, he is ALWAYS in the sim (20+ days working doubles), will always have to live in DEN (which becomes less appealing every year due to the constant influx of transplants), and has lots of weird working hours (early/late sims).
If you’re hired on a wide body at FDX/UPS, you’ll make that in your 2nd year, work way less, and live wherever you want. You’ll also have a MUCH better retirement and benefits.
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
The doubles crowd looked tired all the time, frankly. I wouldn't want to do it consistently, driving to work and making that level of money or otherwise.
GypsyPilot
Mohawk Town
I agree... They’re definitely sacrificing their bodies for it.
Hiboglossi
The Most Depressing Person
Admittedly my employer is pretty much the lowest-paying regional. However I suspect that's still very much the exception to the rule, and while it's probably possible to make that much or have 15 days off in a month I seriously doubt anyone is doing both.
In 2017, a sim instructor at my company supposedly make over $300,000. But that was of course with constant doubles, which many of the sim instructors did and do. At that time we had a very high rate of checkride failures and wash-outs. Training quality has improved since then but is still not great. While there are certainly many reasons for the training issues I do wonder if fatigued instructors contributed to the problem.
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
I think, when I broke six figures, I had about 8-9 days off a month and a lot of the bonus time was desk duty or "quality time" in SGU. Hooray.
Yeah, that's a thing too. My experience varied (everyone was working super hard in the 175 schoolhouse right after initial cadre, but I don't think the quality of the instruction was suffering too terribly much due to espirit de corps; then there's the CRJ). Making sure people have time off AND that they take it should be more important, especially in that arena; burnout has bad consequences for more than just the individual instructor busting his or her ass.
Again, I'm not advocating staying by any stretch of the imagination (been hitting the job fairs), but there are plenty of people pulling in north of 130k and getting 15 days off. Mind you those guys are 10+ years in and senior in base.
Yeah it's a little easier to do on ERJ pay, and I'm on reserve and never break guarantee. I'll be bringing my golf clubs out here if my situation doesn't change in the next month or so.
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
The JungleJet in ORD (?) is literally the only place in the system like that, or at least it was for a long time; everywhere else was "IMMEDIATE RED ALERT STAFFING CRITICAL PILOTS MAN YOUR PLANES."
Jordan93
Well-Known Member
I hustled a little bit this year. Probably averaged around 12 days off and made 115 as a 3rd year captain. I live in base and it’s easy money to pick up a day trip at 150%. The senior LCPs here make pretty good coin, especially because they live in MSP. $150K goes a long way there.
A150K
Well-Known Member
But are you house broken?Agreed. Me well before 65:
I’m in BOI. I think they forget about us when the weather goes to crap on the other side of the country.
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
Ahhhhh. You know, I thought outstation basing was a dying fad.
Speaking of poop shows...Didn’t you guys cancel like 150 flights in SFO one day this week for no god damn reason?
Karnage
I-am-a-pirate. I do not need credentials!
The same airline that sends me to sit out of base reserve over a weekend where base chiefs send out multiple emails warning of operational issues due to winter weather and is literally down to 0 reserve captains by 10 AM CST every day but yet I'm sitting on the beech in Pismo and this surprises you?
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
Very little does, but this is how you lose contracts.
Yes, I know that’s above your pay grade.
Incidentally, let me know on your next sojourn to SBP; the hotel and its surroundings are some of my favorite places.
Lol. I honestly have no idea. I've flown like 15 hours so far this year.
Autothrust Blue
Welcome aboard the Washington State Ferries
Killing it!
If I wasn't commuting I'd be in heaven.
Karnage
I-am-a-pirate. I do not need credentials!
Gross operational inefficiencies as well as the disconnect between recent "policy" changes and management critiques about our declining operational performance is amusing for sure. I have to laugh though when one managerial edict comes out extolling us to do one thing then a week later the same person proclaims our partners have noticed a less than acceptable level of performance (caused in at least a small part by the most recent edict as well as other pronouncements from on high). Then again, having once upon a time been the guy who's job it was to analyze such issues, determine their causes, and propose solutions usually to the person who's bright idea caused the problem in the first place mostly just causes me to want to drink more.
I was simply grateful to be someplace not covered in snow, but will certainly keep that in mind for next time as I had time to spare.