Commercial Aviation Pay Rates
Having just returned from Redbull in Perth after staying with some friends I found it interesting to compare aviation pay rates with mining jobs in WA (admittedly from the resources boom). I was told a job was recently advertised for a kitchen hand (not a cook) for 10 days on, 5 off for $100,000, and plumbers and electricians on similar rotations are being payed $200,000.
Taking Qantas pay rates out of the discussion, as long term they may be a thing of the past, it seems about $140,000 is the top rate for a Capt, with most commercial pilots earning well below $100,000.
I am interested in the motivation of new pilots coming into an industry where they must spend at a bare minimum $40,000 of their own money on training to obtain a level of skill, discipline and responsibility, in my opinion, equivalent to a doctor, to then be payed at the current level. Comparing RFDS pilots pay to the doctor and flight nurse in the back I find simply astounding.
I understand this is driven primarily by supply and demand, but what is driving the oversupply?