Is 500 hours a magic number for you? (r22butters)
No,it is not. 400 / 500 / 1000, it all depends what job you have to do.
But hey, as you said, if you are paid 12$ an hour flying a 44, why are they complaining about pilot shortage?
So, a pilot has the same level as a fast food employee? Seriously?
Why anybody will spend so much money to be told he will be a slave for, well, a number of years.....and nobody knows how big this number is.....
As long as this attitude will exist in the industry, more and more people will do something else.
So, they can complain about pilot shortage and aircraft down, good for them, I hope they will have more because nobody is interested in respecting a guy who has the passion and will to do this job but will be destroyed by this industry.