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big jobs that pay badly..

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Uh oh...My gf is going into academic research and had agreed to be my sugar mama. After reading that I guess I'm going to have to leave her in search of a doctor or something. (Doctors still make good money right?)
 
Ohh you beat me to the topic!!

I think by far that a Regional Airline Pilot should be included on this list. Now a days these kids are spending $80,000+ so that they can get a $12/hour job at a regional!

But then again most "outside" people including the media think that because you fly for airplanes you must be making $100K+ a year!
 
I was a Ph.D. student at Ohio State for two and a half years. Left because I began to hate a subject that I used to love. We always knew, however, that we'd end up making squat on the way out. Wasn't too hard to swallow, though, because most of us received free schooling and a salary. I had a $30,000 a year tuition waiver (which covered all of my classes) and was paid $1,200 a month to teach part time. It sucked, but I can think of a lot worse deals. I left early to take a teaching gig at a junior college with my Masters and now I'm making $50k a year ... more than some of the profs I studied under at Ohio State with Ph.Ds if you can believe that.

Of course I'd trade it all to make $20k to fly right seat for some crappy regional. On my way to livin' the dream...
 
User997 said:
Ohh you beat me to the topic!!

I think by far that a Regional Airline Pilot should be included on this list. Now a days these kids are spending $80,000+ so that they can get a $12/hour job at a regional!

But then again most "outside" people including the media think that because you fly for airplanes you must be making $100K+ a year!
Try $120,000 or more for some.

I've got $19,500.00 invested pvt-mei at 141 school, rent included. 6 months of which was in a nice two bedroom apartment, with a pool. Most of the time I was at the apartment I had no roomate...I got lucky. The other three months I was at a school owned house...I had a pretty good sized room there. My training took nine months...I was milking it and I used the schools lack of scheduling finese to my advantage.
 
User997 said:
Ohh you beat me to the topic!!

I think by far that a Regional Airline Pilot should be included on this list. Now a days these kids are spending $80,000+ so that they can get a $12/hour job at a regional!

But then again most "outside" people including the media think that because you fly for airplanes you must be making $100K+ a year!
Maybe there are some regionals that pay as low as $12 an hour for a first year FO, but I can't think of one. But, they do start out low, just like a medical intern working 80 hour weeks for next to nothing. The better pay comes later.....after the dues are paid.

That said, there are quite a few regional pilots in the left seat that earn $100,000 plus or minus a few K, but they don't get that out of the gate. They can be at 50 to 60 K in around 5 to 6 years senioity in the left seat, and pushing that 5 figure income in 9 to 10 years.

All the while nowadays, its the mainline guys (and gals) who are getting furloughed and out of a job with the Legacy carriers, and some of them on the brink of going under.
 
jarhead said:
Maybe there are some regionals that pay as low as $12 an hour for a first year FO, but I can't think of one. But, they do start out low, just like a medical intern working 80 hour weeks for next to nothing. The better pay comes later.....after the dues are paid.


Yeah, but at least doctors don't have to start at the bottom making next to nothing if they ever change where they work. Being able to stay with the same airline long enough to make the big bucks is becoming less realistic all the time.
 
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Heyas All,

Another low paid job is veterinarian. Vet school is a huge PITA to get into, and there are far less than regular medical schools. Most only take 75-100 new students a year. Unless you go in-state, the tuition will absolutely break your bank. My ex was still paying off her student loans 10 years after she got out.

You would think with such a low number comming out, and considering what I pay for each visit with my pets they would be making a killing, but it isn't so. Most vets are lucky to bank 70k a year, which is crap considering what they paid to enter the game with.

Like the rich airline captains we get to hear about from the press, the game is similar with vets. The rich ones either hit with a specialty or got lucky with the practice ownership game (which you can do without a DVM). A lot of independent DVMs are selling out to the VCA, which is a practice ownership/management company, which is to vets what Mesa is to pilots.

Vets are pretty far down in the medical pecking order, I've read that in research facilities, the pecking order, prestige wise, went MD (even the crappy ones), PhDs and then DVMs.

Just goes to show that everyone has their problems...

Nu
 
Compared to a lot of professions the pilot makes a lot of money. I don't have a 4 year degree and I make way more than my father-in-law has and he has 3 master degree's, 10 regular degrees and a PHD. I hear a lot of belly aching but in reality we have it made. I don't have his status but all the black tie mess is just for the ladies anyway, unfortunately my wife thrives on it.
 
Flic1 said:
Yeah, but at least doctors don't have to start at the bottom making next to nothing if they ever change where they work. Being able to stay with the same airline long enough to make the big bucks is becoming less realistic all the time.
My first full time flying job paid 25,000.00 a year as a contractor at a 10 day accelerated instrument flight training facility. My first 135 job started at 36K plus benefits. In my third year of flying turbine freight during the daytime, I grossed 41,000.00 plus about 4,000 in perdiem...working 12 days on, no weekends, no holidays...no rons...no on call...no pager...home every night.

The only time I had to take suck wages, was at a regional...homie can't make it on 12K a year take home. I thought I could, but I couldn't.

You only have to take the sucky starting wages if you don't have any flight time and run with lemmings.
 

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