Is anyone a pilot, how is the job, and how much is your salary?

Question

or if anyone knows how the job is and their salary. please answer.

Answer 1

lots of pilots are being laid off right now bc of all the problems with the air lines.  unless you want to be a pilot in the military i would say.. forget it.

sorry bud

Answer 2

I've seen several fixed-wing answers to this question. I'll input one for the rotary-wing side. I've been flying helicopters now for 8 years. I absolutely enjoy it. My schedule is 7 days on and 7 days off, with the possibility of 14/14 or 28/28. Being gone for a week is not bad after the adjustment period. It's great to have a week off with no thoughts of work. The flying is great. What's better than a company paying you to fly their multi-million dollar aircraft for half the year. There are many companies hiring these days. Plenty of vertical and lateral movement within the industry. Normally in the helicopter industry your salary will start out higher than in the airline industry. With a 1000 hrs flight time you can get a job earning roughly $50K start pay, and progress upwards of $120K (depending on the company). The airlines start low and cap high, the rotary wing operators, start higher and cap lower. I don't know of any helicopter pilots bringing in more than $150k. Anything's possible, I guess. Hope this helps

Answer 3

It all depends on who you are flying for, and how long you fly.

Usually around 20,000 a year starting.

Can be up to 80,000 to 120,000.

Answer 4

Starting salary is around $20,000/year (US dollars) at most regional airlines.  A pilot will typically have to work for a couple of years as a flight instructor, or something else building time, where he/she will make less than that.  After a few years at a regional, it's possible to be making $50 or $60,000 per year.  Right now, major airlines aren't hiring.  In fact, very few have hired since 9/11, and those that got hired knew someone (and they're also getting furloughed now).  Thus today, it's hard to ever make more than $80,000/year because many pilots are realizing they will spend their entire career at a regional airline.

As for how the job is, well, almost everybody thinks it is very exciting at first, and I agree.  However, just like anything else, it becomes a job.  Eventually, when the thrill of landing a jet wears off, you are left with a job that leaves you away from your family more than 50% of the time.  Many pilots get tired of it after a while.  Having a family makes it worse as many spouses can't handle you being gone that much, even if they say they can.

It's a very tough career and lifestyle.  I always recommend having a backup career because of so many pilots who are leaving the industry to do something else, either on their own will or not.