Well, you’re talking to one, and I can tell you that while pilots may feel they are near the poverty line, that is quite often hyperbole.
According to “
Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy,” the calculated poverty line for Canada in 2018 varied between $16,436 to $20,389 for individuals. For a family of four (two adults, two children) the poverty line varied from $32, 871 to $40,777. For comparison purposes, later on,
PayScale.com reports the median before-tax wage for the holder of a Bachelor’s degree in Canada is $57,000 while the median before-tax hourly rate is $21.00. Although I disagree with the principle, a Bachelor’s degree is used often as a comparator to the CPL.
The average first-year First Officer at Jazz or Encore will gross around $50,000 and will net an
average of $41,613. This wage is hardly near the poverty line for an individual, although it becomes difficult to house and feed a family of four on a single income. Jazz is hiring pilots straight out of flight school, and Encore is getting close. Even just on the base salary, you’re looking at a gross of $37,000 and an average net of $31,127.
Granted, not everybody earns what a first-year employee at Jazz or Encore will earn. Some will gross nearer $30,000, netting an average of $25,835, which is still above the poverty line. In some cases, that leaves you with around $800 a month above the poverty line. That’s rent. That’s entertainment. That’s an impressive food budget for one person. That’s savings for retirement or a rainy day. That’s some serious payments towards student debt.
My first year as a flight instructor I grossed $20,000. $20,000 would net an average of $18,296 in 2018. That’s the poverty line, but I’m also 18 years out from my ab initio instructing days. I’ve no clue if a first-year instructor in 2019 would still make $20,000. Cost of Living (CoL) adjustments should suggest not. Even so, Canada's definition of the poverty line provides for shelter, a modestly healthy diet, and the bare requirements for living in a first-world, 21st-century society. Sure, you're not going to have an 85" 4K UHD TV with a PS4 Pro sitting on the shelf, an iPhone X in your pocket, and a fully fueled Subaru Impreza in the driveway. But then, that's not bare bones, is it?
Say you are earning a wage near the poverty line; how do you do better? Well, be a better instructor to your students, and they’ll spread the word. In my second year, I would have reached $30,000 or more because I put in the work with my students and it started to pay off through referrals. I never sought to take students from the other instructors, but those instructors were focused too much on their logbook and not their student’s wallet, and students know when they’re being taken for a ride. So, don’t take them for a ride.
As for the charter pilots, be a better First Officer. Captains at those places have some sway in who they fly with, and clients often have all the sway. If they like you, they’ll demand you. So, do better.
If, after six months in the job you need a morale boost, then I suggest you are focusing on the wrong things in life. One of my first Captains always said that no matter the job, you should do that job as though it is the only one you ever wanted in life. Aviation is not an industry for the faint of heart. It is not an industry that will hand you the golden goose or a silver platter. You must work for everything or the next person in line will steal your hours or your money. Be the best instructor you can be. Be the best First Officer you can be. Hell, be the best toilet scrubber you can be. I know a current 737 Captain who started his career scrubbing toilets in Yellowknife when the only job you could maybe get with 200 hours was a ramp job – and you thought you had hit the jackpot when you got that job. He scrubbed toilets and mopped the floors as though it was his childhood dream. The Virgin Mary would have been proud to take a dump in the toilets he cleaned.
What happened? At a time where it would take most pilots up to two years to get onto an airplane, he was in after six months. He put 100% into every job he ever did. He was never a yes man; he’d say no quite a bit. But by god, when he worked, he put everyone else to shame. He knew his stuff too. You never had to remind him about a rule or procedure. He continually studied the AIM, COM, AFM, and SOPs. Just under a year after getting his first flying gig, he was the most junior Captain we had ever promoted. A year and a half later he was a Captain on a 704 machine, and under a year later he was being trained as a Captain on a 705 machine.
So again, if after six months in this jobs climate you’re still wondering where your career has gone, don’t look to PPRuNe for the answer; chances are you’re on here too much already.