When people say that thay GROSS a certain amout I often ask them what their GROSS salary is. Too many times they have included allowances and Super. On this basis, My best year as an FO at Ansett was $168,000!
I know that some young
VB guys have liked to pad out their income in this way to make it look like they are on a huge income. It impresses the girls, too true.
Some have compared (again!) Pilot salaries to those of other skilled professions. However, although many Doctors and Nurses work long hours, they simply do not face the personal disruption to their lives that goes hand-in-glove with what we do.
We enjoy/face/endure/suffer (delete as applicable to your own circumstance) time away from home that the vast majority of workers do not face. I am aware of a Captain who was away from home on a 10 day trip when his Son was hospitalised with a life-threatening illness. Another Captain was away when his Father-in-law died. It was 2 days before he could get back to his family. How many Christmases/Birthdays/Annaversaries have been missed over the years by people who do long haul? I've lost count and I know I can never get them back.
These are some of the reasons that even S/Os should get a decent return on their commitment to the companies. We should have a component of our renumeration that relects our unavailability to our families and the personal disruption that is part of our job. I call it f$%^& around money, because it compensates us for being f$%^ed around.