Hi!
Mesa is about ready to shut down, because of a lack of pilots.
Pinnacle and Mesaba are hiring captains off the street. They start out making about $60K first year. TT required is about 2500.
EVERY regional in the US is hiring guys with less than 500 hrs TT. NO ONE has to be a flight instructor, unless you want to. And, if you want to, you can make $40K+ as a flight instructor for the Ab-Initio schools out west.
The airline I fly for hired 2 guys with less than 400 hours Total Time. Starting pay is $34K. I was hired at about 2000 TT. 5 year captain pay is $92/hour. My buddy has worked here about 7-8 years, and he has over $150K in his retirement account. Another guy just left us for Emirates. He was offered DEC on the -777.
A buddy of mine went to Kalitta (747s-requiring 4000 TT) and made over $100K as an FO.
NetJets requires 2500 TT. Their new base pay, if you take the 7/7 schedule will be $60K. If you take the 18 day work schedule, you will make $75K first year as an FO. Top pay at NetJets will be well over $200K.
As a current US airline pilot, you won't make as much as you did in the '70s. HOWEVER, you can easily make more than 90% of people in the world, in a reasonable amount of time.
If you think it's crap, don't come here. If you're lucky enough to live in India or China, do your flight training there and fly there-they need you.
cliff
KLRD
PS-I have been working in the US for 24 years, in 5 career fields. Now that I am working in the airlines, I am making the most I have ever made, and it's by FAR the best job I've had. I do NOT work at a major airline. That would be MUCH better than where I'm at, and pay a LOT more.
PPS-If you don't want to fly PAX, then the top 3 are: FedEx, UPS and Atlas/Polar.