Pilot shortage - myth or reality?

[EatMyShorts!]

You Tube

[ph-sbe]

Originally Posted by RatherBeFlying

Then I got downsized at 55 into a job market that was just as brutal to old coders as it was to low hour pilots.

Sad, and weird, to hear. I'm well in my 40s and have not seen anything similar. Every company I've worked for so far has a mix of junior vs experienced SWEs. But then again, I'm in silicon valley where there is always a market for people with skills. For comparison (and not to show off), my W2 income for last year was well above 300k (this includes base, bonus, RSUs etc).Of course, that includes the silicon valley bonus (cost of living is horrible). I've yet to see air crew make that.

My point being that at this point in time, young people interested in aviation must make a choice between cash and their dreams, and potentially have a plan B.

[hans brinker]

Originally Posted by ph-sbe

Sad, and weird, to hear. I'm well in my 40s and have not seen anything similar. Every company I've worked for so far has a mix of junior vs experienced SWEs. But then again, I'm in silicon valley where there is always a market for people with skills. For comparison (and not to show off), my W2 income for last year was well above 300k (this includes base, bonus, RSUs etc).Of course, that includes the silicon valley bonus (cost of living is horrible). I've yet to see air crew make that.

My point being that at this point in time, young people interested in aviation must make a choice between cash and their dreams, and potentially have a plan B.

Just an FYI, every captain at DL, UA, AA, SW,A FDX, UPS makes more than 300K, and quite a few FOs do too. At least 30,000 pilots make that much money.
And on a totally unrelated note:"ook uit holland??"

[wiggy]

Originally Posted by flash8

There are youtube videos of a recent BA A320 captain in his early 30's give up flying to code... starting from his last days up front to his new career.

I guess there might be more than one but the individual starring in the video EatMyShorts provided ended up flying in the Far East but (judging by a follow up video) seemed to hoping for a career change at some point.

[flash8]

Originally Posted by wiggy

I guess there might be more than one but the individual starring in the video EatMyShorts provided ended up flying in the Far East but (judging by a follow up video) seemed to hoping for a career change at some point.

Yes, that was the chap!

[MaverickPrime]

Quite a few skippers in China lift $350k net if money is your thing.

[ph-sbe]

Originally Posted by hans brinker

Just an FYI, every captain at DL, UA, AA, SW,A FDX, UPS makes more than 300K, and quite a few FOs do too. At least 30,000 pilots make that much money.
And on a totally unrelated note:"ook uit holland??"

I've never seen an FO go above 300k, but good for them if they do. If at flagship carriers, getting to that level requires seniority to get to the left seat, and a mix of skill and luck to get to the left seat of long-haul. In my team, I have newgrads starting at 150+, with midlevel engineers (think early to late 30s) well above 200k. While that for sure is possible at a flagship carrier, we all know that for the average flyboy hopeful, that's simply a dream that is either unattainable or will take a lot of time. Which brings me back to my original point: have a plan B.

Holland is a long time ago. Lost NL citizenship and haven't been back in a long time.

[Alpine Flyer]

And don't go flying for money alone. If you can't say "doing what I love and getting paid for it" at least sometimes, it's not the right job for you. I am not foreign to coding but I would think more than twice about changing from flying to coding just to increase my salary.

[Meester proach]

I got into flying because it looked interesting and glamorous .

I don’t want to write “ code “, even if you pay me a billion pounds TBH.

There wasn’t a version of top gun based on IT...

[FlightDetent]

There's the Matrix movie ...

[Ian W]

Originally Posted by Meester proach

I got into flying because it looked interesting and glamorous .

I don’t want to write “ code “, even if you pay me a billion pounds TBH.

There wasn’t a version of top gun based on IT...

There is a certain je ne sais quoi knowing that you guys are exercising code I wrote and systems I helped design
But don't expect huge sums or any thanks.

[eiffel]

How many WOW's pilots on the market? (European? Americans? Others?)

[booze]

178. Mostly Icelandic and other European nationalities.

[Meester proach]

I think they’ll be ok, plenty of A320 jobs out there

[Sailvi767]

Delta came within spitting distance of their first million dollar in one year Captains and plentry of F0’s will break 500K. 500k is probably pretty close to the norm for a widebody CA.

[Steepclimb]

I was chief pilot of a small skydive operation for several years. It was surprisingly difficult to find suitable pilots. You know pilots who I felt comfortable enough that they were competent enough not to kill our customers.

The good ones were obvious and soon moved on to better things. Others not so much. One lad seemed to fit the bill but after quite a few hours sitting right seat with him I just couldn't let him solo. CPL he might have but no. Saw him lately still floating around.
Not everyone has what it takes. So yes plenty of pilots are out there but not everyone has what it takes.

[mryan75]

Originally Posted by flash8

Indeed I went from a Computer Science degree to a well paid IT Consultancy position, that funded a CPL/IR after resignation, then 737-300, and then back to IT/Government consultancy. I recall many Captains after I stated my previous pre-airline salary look at me as if I were crazy to give it up, and more than one told me I was foolish.

There are youtube videos of a recent BA A320 captain in his early 30's give up flying to code... starting from his last days up front to his new career.

Anyone who gives up an airline captaincy in his early 30s to sit on his ### for the rest of his life staring at a computer screen ought to have his head examined.

[mryan75]

Originally Posted by DeepUnderground

There may be a shortage of (people willing to go 100k into debt for entry level jobs)

I hear this line all the time. But honestly, if you're spending $100,000 to get a CPL-ME-IA with 25 hours of twinky time, you're a moron.

[Denti]

Originally Posted by mryan75

I hear this line all the time. But honestly, if you're spending $100,000 to get a CPL-ME-IA with 25 hours of twinky time, you're a moron.

Maybe. However, with that experience the entry level jet is then an A320 or 737 and a command in five years. Of course one could get his CPL and a degree at something like Embry Riddle or UND (costs are similar) and then spend another 100k to get the required 1500 hours for his ATPL. Different systems and very different job markets.

[Hangarshuffle]

I fly with BA, KLM, S7, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Gulf, Saudi, Oman and more and have never been held up by any sort of announcement to the effect that I've been delayed due to staff shortages/ pilots. Trains in the UK, its a different story.
So from my POV, no shortage.