Expert: David A. NewMyer - 2/27/2008

Question
Hi David,

I'm from India.My brother who's an B.Tech is thinking of pursuing career in commercial flying as a pilot. He's looked for a training institute in Florida. My concern is that since its big amount of money involved and risk too,how much are the opportunities once he's done the training. What is status of employment in commercial flying, how much is the salary etc? In a nut shell is it worth for him to leave his current job and invest a big amount of money and time for this training and later. I'm sure your answer would help us in getting our anxiety levels down.
Looking forward for your early response. Thanks in advance

--Abhilasha

Answer
Hi,

Right now, the opportunities for hiring in the pilot ranks have never been better.  However, the starting salaries for pilots are not really very high......$20,000 to $30,000 a year for the first year in the smaller regional airlines and then they go up from there.  And, as you point out, that is after a tremendous amount of investment in the training.  On the other hand, the ending salaries in an aviation flight career CAN BE quite high....as much as $250,000 to $300,000 a year if you get hired with the right carrier (FEDEX, UPS and American Airlines, for example).  Some of the airlines that have been through a bankruptcy pay less, such as United, which has an average salary of about $180,000 a year.

I understand your concerns.  I believe that the ultimate answer is whether or not your brother will ENJOY flight as a career.  The key to any successful career is the amount of enjoyment that one gets from the  type of work that one does.  So, if he is just selecting flight for the money, that is the wrong motivation.  If he is selecting flight because he likes it, then, that is the right motivation.

I hope that this answer is of help to you.

Best wishes,

David A. NewMyer