I live in the New york metro area, Alot of my friends, who barely graduated high school, got jobs on Wall street and easily bring in $200,000 to $300,000 a year, and I ask "for what!" selling and trading stocks!!! my brother-in law makes way more than a 747 Captain, as a lawyer. I ask, when he screws up a case how many people die!! and respectfully Guv, I don't know a single doctor who makes a less than stellar salary. Look at it this way, if you owned a company, and bought a piece of equipment that cost $100 million dollars, how much would you pay a person who has spent 10 years mastering its operation? $50,000 a year? I dont think so! now add the potential loss of life if said operator makes a mistake etc etc. I often say that a typical airline pilot will earn his entire yearly salary on one or two nights per year, what would an airline pay to safely land afew hundred people, versus a catastrophic accident? a pilots salary is a small price to pay