DO NOT BECOME A PILOT FOR THE MONEY. No there is hardly anyway for you to make that much money in your first year.
its based upon seniority and what seat you sit in.
Expect minimal pay the first few years.
Good luck
$60K or $70K is a reasonable salary for a pilot to look forward to after about 10-15 years of experience. If you want to start at a figure like that, go to law school.
Again, Michael: you go into flying because you love it. If you are concerned about money first and foremost, aviation is not a career that you will find satisfying.
Everyone that answers here seems to think that being a pilot can only mean being a flying bus driver. Airlines are not the only option to earn money while flying, and quite honestly not the best paying, unless you are a very senior pilot. The pay range you are talking about is very reasonably attainable. I have a commercial certificate, an instrument rating (have not used it even once since the checkride) I fly a single engine aircraft that carries no passengers and it is not unreasonable to make that kind of money, and over a period of only 4 to 5 months. There are a lot of commercial jobs out there that have nothing to do with hauling passengers.
No one gets in aviation for money in any area. It is just too frusterating and up and down. You got to love it. Only way you can live with it. Beaverba your right it would be a heck of a lot of fun to bore a fifty foot deep hole in the ground or have the FAA take your license after all the frusteration of getting one. Nothing more fun....I'd go with Jim or Bert as best answer. They know what they are talking about. So do I.
Well an Air Force/Navy/Marine O3/O4 makes about $50K - $75K, plus tax-free allowances. Additionally one gets $500 -600/month flying pay. Finally if you're eligible for a bonus, that's $120K.
But, like everyone else here, don't join the military to fly just for the paycheck...
Fly corporate, and have a second job.
Well, I'm sorry to be the guy who brings the bad news but I'm a commercial pilot...and I can only be honest...if you want the big bucks, there's no choice but to work and wait really.
There sure are good jobs that pay that much and more - but they're at least at the regional airline level. Regional airlines are those like American Eagle in the US, Qantaslink in Australia, etc - usually 50-100 seat flights.
However to even get a job doing that you need usually 700+ flight hours, ATPL theory passes and an instrument rating.
Hours are the key to higher pay in flying. Sadly, it's not as easy as you'd think to build the hours up. Short of paying for them yourself, hour by hour, you need a job - and most jobs at the low end are unpredictable hours - I worked a scenic flights job where I could do 8 hours flying one day then have a week without any flight time.
The best way for a job when you first get a CPL is to do an instructor's rating and teach others to fly. Guaranteed regular hours and instructors are always in demand - not just in holiday season! Plus unlike charter flying, you don't fly a few hours then spend days on the ground waiting.
However instructing really isn't that well paid - in Australia its about a $36000 salary average so expect around $30000 USD...but its the best hour builder at a low level.
Other good jobs to get hours are aerial photography and survey/fire spotting, etc, but they can get boring - a lot of time in the air circling over the same scenery!
Hours are the key to moving up.
Flying is something you have to do for the love of it. It gets intensely frustrating at times and it's times like this you'll stick at it if you want to fly - but if you want a good money fix, you'll get quickly sick of it! There's a lot of work and a lot of work you don't think of...think hours spent updating maps, books, log records, etc.
Then there's continued study if you want to keep moving up - an instructor's rating takes study, as do the ATPL theory subjects if you aim for an airline job.
I really think the best money option is to do what I do.
It's not easy but I'm much more financially comfortable - and that is, take on an outside, shift working job - doing "blocks" of days on and "blocks" off - or a night job after flying time.
The way I work it is I do 12 hour shifts in a mine - it pays well but is hard work...I usually do 5 days on, 5 off - and it's on those 5 off that I spend my time flying and building hours - or studying. Yes, it's a bit boring at times and it does get tiring - but if you want to do well, then it's a good way to get your hours while still getting a good salary.
Otherwise the only other option for good money is to take on a job around your flying hours. This is where instructing can be good - instructing tends to be fairly pleasant hours, usually mostly daytimes and not really time away - so you can structure an evening job around that...
Otherwise, there's really no option but to stick at it. The dollars will come - but you have to be willing to work hard, take a place in the queue and wait...
Good luck by all means - but before you start flying - ask yourself what you want. Do you want to fly? Or be paid as a pilot?
If you want to fly (as I do!) - follow your dreams. But if you want the pay and glamour of an airline pilot...I'd really suggest that sadly it might not be worth it if thats the appeal...
if you become a pilot the first year you wont make that much, but you get experience and training. if you keep at it though you can be making 200 grand a year.
fly a celebrity around, get hoped up on coke, thad be hella fun
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