Originally Posted by
KRviator
So....uuhhh...how long does it take to get to such a shiny jet?.
On the current fleet the range of pilot backgrounds is variable, everything from late careers changes who came in to the role in their 50s down to cadets with only a few years in aviation in their early twenties. For sake of defining an "average" background I'd say just prior to Covid it was 30 years old, maybe several years of light aircraft GA flying followed by a few years of regional flying. A lot went straight into a regional via a cadetship or traineeship after basic training. Some went from about two years of basic GA instructing post CPL straight to mainline. Average national salary for someone at age 30 is slightly less than average overall salary, which peaks around age 50. People were getting FO gigs either straight away or no longer than a year or two wait depending on base, and the average age of a new hire is late 20s.
FFS the KRviatrix is an accountant, she works from home, is barely out of her PJ's by 1000 and earns not that much less than your exemplar Effo. And if she could be bothered, and became a executive or partner-type at KPMG or Deloitte, she'd be on similar coin to your skipper - and not have to deal with CAsA, the Doc for a Class 1 or the security muppets just to get to work!\
Average wages for Australian accountants are roughly $80-100k according to these
salary statistics. You have to get to management positions to get salaries above the mid $100ks, and the only ones earning Captain's equivalent would be positions like CFO or Head of Department.