Analyzing Pilot Pay

M

meritflyer

Well-Known Member
I know you're all prolly sick of hearing about the pay thing, so my apologies up front.

But after doing a little reading and talking to you guys, I've come to see that the regional pay at SKYW, XJT, or any other decent paying airline, doesnt appear to be that shabby after a few years.

Here is my logic using SKYW as a model -

Year 1 - No so livable. Reserve and $19/hour isnt great. I see around $19K, maybe 20K after per diem and some decent flying hours.

Year 2 - Getting more livable. Holding the line, making $35/hour, flying around 80 hours per month. I see around $35K a year after per diem.

Year 3 - Similar to year 2. $36/hour, flying around 80 hours per month. I'll stick with the $35K again.

Year 4 - UPGRADE! $61/hour. Reserve? Line pilot? I'll assume you're reserve and flying (or being paid) the minimum. It looks like $55-60K may be standard.

Year 5 - Holding the line as a CA, flying around 80 hours per month at $63 an hour. I'll say $63K with per diem. Now you're talking some livable wages (if you want a house, ect).

Double check my numbers. They right? If they are, it seems like making money isnt really too shabby after a couple of years. Thats the case in anything. Resident doctors? My brother made $31K as a resident working 80 hour weeks.

Thoughts welcome..
 
100 hours a month?

You'll have a mighty empty house with no friends or family around.
 
Is that alot?
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Yeup.

In my personal opinion.

Figure between 70 to 85 depending on who you're working for. But if you NEED a 100 hour month, might want to stay in the pharmaceutical business.

Plus, you can realistically only do about 83 hours "hard flying time" on average per month without timing out.
 
My brother is an Oral Maxillofacial surgeon (DDS/MD). He had a 4 year residency followed by a 2 year clinical phase for his MD (after he already had his DDS) followed by a 6 month fellowship in craniofacial surgery.

All in all, he was in school for over 14 years. He made really decent money his first year out (over 200K). But... 14 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans!

So, the question is what would a pilot be making after 14 years and would he have over 175K in loans (my bro did).

I'd say a six figure something at that point.
 
I'm trying to structure my finances so that when I make captain...I can live on about a 65-70 hours month. This would entail working about 13 days per month and earning about $105,000 per year at today's captain's rate.

I love flying....but luv the off time as well. That schedule flexibility, to me, is worth a fortune.
 
There is a difference between actually flying 100 hrs per month, and crediting that in pay.

Average lines at most regionals (not sure about majors), tend to be in the 80-90 range, so it seems. If you bid a line that is 80 hrs, there is a good chance you could actually credit 90 hrs, or more. I've talked to FO's and CA's who regularly credit 90+ hrs per month, yet don't actually fly nearly that much.

It has been my consensus, from friends, and others in the airline industry I've talked to, that a 4-6 year regional captain, at most regionals, can pull in $70-$80K. I know someone who is an 8th year captain at XJT, and he pulls in $95K.

You are right. Pay does get better. A lot of people focus on first year FO pay, and while I agree it should be better, it definately does get better after that first year.

The best way to compute what salary range you can expect to make at a given year, and seat, is to compute that hourly pay by between 1,000-1,100. Also, remember that there is an extra $4-5K in addition to that number, for per diem. I know some people do not include per diem in their income, but most pilots I know do, because for the most part, they pocket the majority of it.

Looking at your scenarios, for example; a 2nd year FO at SkyWest. I would say a second year FO at SkyWest could potentially pull in near $40K, including per diem. At a four year upgrade, lets assume on reserve a majority of that year, I'd say you are correct in assuming berween $55K-$60K. Holding a line, as a 5th year captain; I would say a 5th year captain at SkyWest, on the CRJ, would pull in around $70-$75K, maybe more.


meritflyer said:
I know you're all prolly sick of hearing about the pay thing, so my apologies up front.

But after doing a little reading and talking to you guys, I've come to see that the regional pay at SKYW, XJT, or any other decent paying airline, doesnt appear to be that shabby after a few years.

Here is my logic using SKYW as a model -

Year 1 - No so livable. Reserve and $19/hour isnt great. I see around $19K, maybe 20K after per diem and some decent flying hours.

Year 2 - Getting more livable. Holding the line, making $35/hour, flying around 80 hours per month. I see around $35K a year after per diem.

Year 3 - Similar to year 2. $36/hour, flying around 80 hours per month. I'll stick with the $35K again.

Year 4 - UPGRADE! $61/hour. Reserve? Line pilot? I'll assume you're reserve and flying (or being paid) the minimum. It looks like $55-60K may be standard.

Year 5 - Holding the line as a CA, flying around 80 hours per month at $63 an hour. I'll say $63K with per diem. Now you're talking some livable wages (if you want a house, ect).

Double check my numbers. They right? If they are, it seems like making money isnt really too shabby after a couple of years. Thats the case in anything. Resident doctors? My brother made $31K as a resident working 80 hour weeks.

Thoughts welcome..
Click to expand...
 
meritflyer said:
My brother is an Oral Maxillofacial surgeon (DDS/MD). He had a 4 year residency followed by a 2 year clinical phase for his MD (after he already had his DDS) followed by a 6 month fellowship in craniofacial surgery.

All in all, he was in school for over 14 years. He made really decent money his first year out (over 200K). But... 14 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans!

So, the question is what would a pilot be making after 14 years and would he have over 175K in loans (my bro did).

I'd say a six figure something at that point.
Click to expand...


But your brother will pay off his loans at least as fast as a regional pilot and then still be making 200K/yr. If his business folds, he doesn't have to start over at 22K/yr. He can work until 70, at least. He doesn't care what a barrel of crude costs. He works 4 days/wk, plays golf for 2, and sleeps in his own bed nightly.

Damn. I am 32. Is it too late to become a dentist?
 
JAM said:
But your brother will pay off his loans at least as fast as a regional pilot and then still be making 200K/yr. If his business folds, he doesn't have to start over at 22K/yr. He can work until 70, at least. He doesn't care what a barrel of crude costs. He works 4 days/wk, plays golf for 2, and sleeps in his own bed nightly.

Damn. I am 32. Is it too late to become a dentist?
Click to expand...

Now, here's my question. I wish NOT to be a doctor/dentist. I wish to fly. What are my options?
 
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