Originally Posted by
Horatio Leafblower
Deja Vu,
Am I correct in understanding that you think a pilot with a university degree has achieved a degree of academic achievement equivalent to that achieved by a Doctor? ...or even a Nurse?
No, I do not think or suggest that a pilot "has achieved a degree of academic achievement to that of a Doctor" ? ..or even a Nurse? Some may have but its is not even about that. Some previous posters suggested that Doctors and Nurses were "worth" more than others members on the RFDS team because they had "Uni degrees", so I simply asked if a pilot had a "Uni degree" would they or should they be paid more money. I got no response to that.
What this whole thread is about to me is that GA pilots do not receive sufficient renumeration to live a modest life and a comfortable retirement considering their responsibilities. This has mostly come about, in my view, by a supply and demand situation. Operators like the RFDS have taken advantage of this for many years and now claim that they can't get pilots to work for peanuts as easily any longer and so plead for the pilots to "give back to the sector" while happily paying up to $450K for a GP, if I am reading their website correctly. No one begrudges the Doctor or Nurse earning what they do, thats probably just market forces too.
If we were to pay people based on "academic achievement" alone would aircraft refuellers be making $120K+, train drivers in the Pilbarra $250K+, Alan Joyce $24Million, plumbers $300K etc etc. ???.
A look at the RFDS website shows one vacancy for a pilot in Dubbo, RHS for a B350 earning about the same as check out staff at woolies. There are numerous ads for EOI for pilot jobs, but these are not vacancies but an exercise in filling a filing cabinet with applications. No urgent shortage at all.
I can't help, in my negative cynicism, suspect there is more at play here with this whole issue.