Perhaps I did not make it clear but I base all my posts on a N Sea commander as my pilot reference for comparisons.
I find it interesting that some posters think that getting the licence is the end of learning process when compared to other industries. This is just the start.
If you were lucky enough to get a job in the N Sea with the basic CPL/IR you would then start a learning and training process that would take 5+ years before you would be considered for a command on a twin. We have recruited pilots who seem to be experienced only for them to fail line flying or night deck landings.
Even in the RAF, which has a very selective recruitment system you would expect to do at least 4 yrs from wings before being assessed for a SAR command.
We live in a capitalist society where market forces should reflect what we are paid. Hence FL's reference to plumbers etc who seem to be in very short supply. The easier it is to do a job the less you generally are paid.
In the N Sea we are desperately short of suitably qualified pilots hence CHC Scotia's recent advert in Flight Int - unheard of really as our HR dept usually has a drawer full of CVs. Therefore our pay now is rising and pilots are retiring one day and being enticed back the next at a contract rate that has risen 50% in the past 6 months.
HF