[ QUOTE ]
Well, there are lucrative careers and rewarding ones, and they are not necessarily one in the same. That definitely applies here. But it would be nice to get home after a very trying standup overnight to a more comfortable QOL... if anyone knows this, Doug and MikeD do!
Us young whippersnappers get to walk uphill in the snow one way, but have the added luxury of walking downhill the way back (sometimes even with a Starbucks on the way)!
We have autopilot too, sometimes.
[/ QUOTE ]
You aren't kidding, partner. Always amazes me that with the responsibility a commuter/regional crew (just using their particular example) has for their pax, their aircraft, and all the populated land they overfly, that they make as little as they do. I know this subject has been hashed-out to death on this forum, but it's still unresolved in the real world. And the pax on commuter planes are completely oblivious to this...it's transparent to them.
Which is exactly why the pay for the co-pilots should be around $50K starting, if merely for the responsibility inherent to the job; a responsibility shared whether one is a commuter Captain, or an equally important co-pilot.