Here are the facts, new pilots make a very good living now. A first year regional jet first officer at Endeavor Airlines can expect to make $60,000 – $65,000 during year one depending upon how many hours they work. Don’t take our word for it, check it out for yourself at what most of us in the industry consider the gold standard website for airline pilot pay information: https://www.airlinepilotcentral.com/airlines/regional/endeavor_air
That same pilot will earn more annually until upgrading to Captain inside of 2 years, where it would be normal to see $90K in that first year after upgrade. Of course, after a few years you could opt to move on to a mainline or low cost carrier like jetBlue, make approximately 88K year one and well over 100K year two and work your way towards 200K + over the course of your career. Again, don’t take our word for it: https://www.airlinepilotcentral.com/airlines/major-national-lcc/jetblue_airways. Go down to the Pay calculator, select the pay rate for the year the pilot is with the company, select 85 hours or so of credit time (the amount of flight time that you might expect per month), move the bid periods to 12 (a full year) and leave the percentage at 1. If you work overtime, you can make substantially more, if you prefer not to work much, you’ll earn less. You do have a great deal of control over the amount of time you work…especially as you become more senior with the company.
So how does that compare to graduating with a 4 year degree and then heading right to work? Turns out, it compares quite favorably: https://www.thebalance.com/college-graduate-salaries-expectations-vs-reality-4142305 – and the rate of increase in salary at the airlines is stable, requires no negotiations on your behalf, and is substantial & predictable. That said, having a degree can be very important with regards to getting that career job at airlines like Delta and United, but regional airlines do not require a degree. In fact, we know of many pilots working at the regional airlines earning valuable jet experience while finishing degrees they started earlier online. Many of those pilots are now flying the jets that you fly on worldwide. Are you ready to join them up front?
Give us a call at 845-457-4188 to learn more about our Professional Pilot Training Program and available financing https://www.takeflightoc.com/professional-pilot-financing/ .
We’re ready to help you launch your future!
