Average Annual Salary For First Year FO

[FutureRJPilot]

I am a student pilot right now, still a couple years from being anywhere near an airline, and I was wondering what the average annual salary right now is, for a first year first officer with a regional. I'm just looking for a ballpark figure here, any information is appreciated, thanks.

 

[Palerider957]

Hold onto your hat....my first year I made a whopping 17K......pay sucks dude.

 

[jetdriven]

my first year I made 16K. second year was 18K. Mesa

 

[LearLove]

my first year at Allegheny I started at 23.40/hour. I grossed about 34,000 per diem included in my first 12 months but that was a differant time (things movin fast, no reserve, we did/made up our own pay sheets and nobody was flyin jets into buildings)

Now that same starting rate is 21/hour. Your looking at reserve for about a year at 75 hr per month at 21 is 1575 plus say 300 to 400 per month in per diem (nontaxed) so average 350 in perdiem and you have (12x1575)+(12x350)= 23100. Maybe a little more if you hussle the people in sked.

 

[Cardinal]

I was on track for about 16000ish before I got furloughed. If you run across hourly payscales just take the hourly rate, muliptly by 1000, and you can approximate your annual gross pay to within 10 percent or so.

 

[DorkProp]

Made roughly $20K including per diem first year at PSA. Was on reserve for six months.

Made $30K last year as a more senior FO. I always bid for the high-time lines.

 

[JOPILOT]

$ ?

probably around 26 K with perdiem and salary @ 19.02/hr, but you have to move yourself, pay for your own uniform, plates, etc...but at least I got to hock that dorky hat for $5 bucks..no longer a required uniform piece, sweeeet deal!

 

[rightrudder]

probably around 26 K with perdiem and salary @ 19.02/hr,

To make that kind of per diem at your rate, you'd have to have 7000 hours TAFB per year. That's 583 hours per month. Are you sure?
-----------------------------------------

First year pay at Air Wisconsin, CRJ and Bae146 @ $24 per hour = $24K per year

Maybe $5000 per year per diem, 275 hours per month @ $1.50

 

[FutureRJPilot]

I hope I don't sound ignorant or stupid, but what is per diem?

 

[skydiverdriver]

Per diem is a latin word for by the day, and it refers to pay we receive for food and other expenses. It's usually an hourly rate from about $1/hr to $1.75 or so, and it starts from when you report to when you finish a trip. It adds up to quite a bit over the year, and the tax situation with per-diem is a bit better than regular pay.

Hope this helps.

 

[captjim]

$19.5 my first year at COEX.

 

[Beantown]

Made $24,000 first year on the Jetstreem at now defunct CCAir.
-Bean

 

[jtf]

A lot will depend on how long your training lasts and how long you are on reserve. Training pay is usually pretty crappy and a long, drawn out training will really lower your first year total. My first training was for the J-41 and it took 5 months before I was done with IOE and put onto reserve. When I went to the EMB-145 I had a line within 10 weeks of the begining of training. Depending on the airline and how busy they are your perdiem can really suck if you aren't flying much. Money picks up a lot when you fly a lot, but first year pay can really blow- lots of ramen noodles.

 

[FL717]

My first year at Trans States the starting FO pay was $17.50 per hour (70 hour guarantee), and $1.10 per hour for per diem. It was horrible. Grossed barely $17,000 first year and $22,000 the following year as a FO.. including per diem. That was a while ago, and I know the pay is (supposedly) better now.

 

[BAe3100FO]

Man, I'm in the wrong part of the country...

1040EZ says I made just under $11k

4 months flying a J-32
4 months as a CFI
2 months unemployed
2 months grocery clerk

Thank goodness for college educated loved ones!
(NOT in aviation)

 

[WileE]

There are also ways to work the system.

If you can bid TDY you will get room and board paid for plus 24 dollars a day in per diem for as long as you are on TDY or around 700 bucks depending on the length of your bids.

Here at least you can also get move money for moving to new domiciles or getting displaced. That can usually vary depending on the move, but it can run from around 600 to 3000 dollars a month depending on distance.

 

[JOPILOT]

response to right rudder's " "

Well actually I fly all locals, so it is actually only like 200 hours of perdiem at the most per month...and to make up for my prudent wage, I pick up open time for voluntary junior man pay at 1.5 times $$$, which we seem to have a good deal of available because we are growing right now. Thus I am getting paid for about 120-130 hours of flying a month if I hustle. I hope this clarifies how I estimated $26 K this year...have a good one right rudder.

 

[rightrudder]

Well actually I fly all locals, so it is actually only like 200 hours of perdiem at the most per month...and to make up for my prudent wage, I pick up open time for voluntary junior man pay at 1.5 times $$$, which we seem to have a good deal of available because we are growing right now. Thus I am getting paid for about 120-130 hours of flying a month if I hustle. I hope this clarifies how I estimated $26 K this year

I'm glad you're so industrious, I guess you have to be since your wages are so low.

The question here, is how much is average first year pay, not how much can someone make if they work on their days off.

sounds to me like an average mesa fo will make about 19K first year, + 2400-3500 per diem

 

[Klamath]

You have 35 hours, join the military, avoid going regional. The pay is much better and you'll get more job satisfaction.

 

[Ty Webb]

I knew I couldn;t survive on FO pay when I was "at the crossroads" in 1998, so I went corporate jet FO. I made more, worked less, and probably had at least as much fun . . . . . don;t think that you HAVE to go regional.

After a few years as a corporate captain, I went to a national jet airline (AirTran) first year W-2 was around $41,000., I believe.

 

[Speedtree]

FutureRJpilot,

good question. You should know what you are getting into when you commit to this business.

Analyze the companies you are considering and really know who you are interviewing to work for.


Understand who has better contracts, per diem rates, minimum monthly guarantees in terms of days off, pay hours, etc. Don't settle for some airline where your quality of life will really suck, you don't know if management is going to screw you over, or the pilots complain about working there or each other.

I too took the corporate route for awhile. Now I work for one of the best regional airlines in the industry, Air Wisconsin. Nothing is guaranteed because we are all tied to the big boys like United but if the industry holds together you can do pretty well.

I chose AWAC because they actually pay you during training. Treat you well during training. Have a good paying contract with good per diem rates. And, last but not least. I never hear anyone complaining about working at Air Wisconsin. Two other reputable companies are Skywest and Comair.

Do a search of info on these three companies compared to lots of others and decide what you want for yourself. You have a long way to go but thinking about it and asking questions now will help you make a better decision when you have opportunities in the future.

Let me add that many pilots are happy with many other regional airlines due to location, aircraft and various other reasons but it pays to know what you are getting into.

Do the right thing and you will not be sorry.

 

[FutureRJPilot]

Speedtree,
Thanks to everyone for all the information, to Speedtree, I am from the Northwest and would like to stay here or at least on the west coast. I know people at SkyWest and Horizon that will write me a LOC, my first choice is Horizon though because they have a base here in Portland and from what I hear are a great copmany to fly for. And to TyWebb, I am definately considering the corporate route also, it does seem like a great gig but it seems a little harder to get into than regional. Anyways thanks again, anymore info is appreciated.

 

[Viking]

Instead of saying average salary it should say average earnings!

My first year as an FO based in California required me to charge an additional $6000 to my credit cards just to survive. By my 3rd year I was finally able to start paying off the credit cards and make a little bit of money.

I heard a fellow pilot tell me he'ld be better off going back to Iowa and sucking buffalo **** for a nickle a heard. He would make more money and get his self respect back!

 

[Capt America]

I made 19 my first year at Chautauqua. 23 the second and then upgraded and made over 50 my first year as a captain.

 

[bulfinch]

Eww may I contribute!

FutureRJPilot, while on your way to that high paying career job do not forget you are going to need more than just the 250TT commercial pilot certificate. Most likely the lucrative career as a flight instructor is in your future. So here are some very accurate numbers for you.

Jan 1 2002 to Dec 31 2002 my W2 reported $31,211.66 (compared to the other replys this is extremely lucrative)

The logbook tells me I logged 871.3TT... 784.4SE... 86.9ME and 795.1 as a CFI. I have no idea how much time I spent doing ground or simulator work.

My wife tells me I worked, for the most part, 6 if not 7 days a week, an average of 10 hours a day sometimes as many as 15 (on 3 occasions I exceeded the 8 hours flight in the past 24). For those long hours I billed about 5 to 7 hours a day.

To be able to earn the right to instruct I signed promissory notes to banks and creditors for more than $70,000 in direct costs for a college degree and the multitude of FAA ratings.

Between Monday and Friday I narrowly avert death at least once. On Saturdays and Sundays at least a half dozen times.

I am looking forward to working at the next level whether it’s at a commuter, charter, or cargo company. I have no idea how I’ll afford it.

In my heart I believe this is the best job I have ever had. If not the easiest.

 

[buckdanny]

Where are?

"Between Monday and Friday I narrowly avert death at least once. On Saturdays and Sundays at least a half dozen times."

Sounds like typical Central California valley flying near LVK!! I hate flying on weekends; watching those warbirds in formation is fun, but avoiding them at the nearby uncontrolled airports is a different story.

buck

 

[Rogue5]

LVK cluster action...

I hear ya on the LVK tip: I intstructed about 1,000 hours there before my present job and now regularly going into SFO and LAX is smooth and orderly compared to the (all too frequent) times when those class D controllers would lose the picture and suddenly 10 planes in the pattern would have to scatter in different directions.

Many times I though Livermore would be better uncontrolled, let us take care of ourselves...

 

[pimpinthesky]

TO fly1717: nICe Pic were'd you find that?