“We don’t have it so bad.” Is that your true feelings, or are you trying to convince yourself of that. Let me put it into perspective for you, so you can get a sense of how ‘so bad,’ it really is. My wife is a mortgage lender, and before you jump the gun and think she make the money, it is a commission job only and times are getting bad for real estate. So here is my example of how much you mean to your company. At my wife’s office, there is a sweet young girl who is the office managers assistant. She has been there for about 3 months now, and is due to have a baby next month. She has a few years of college, no specialized training, and basically no experience in lending. Her base starting salary, because she is not commission, is $36,000/ yr plus basis point off any sale the office manager makes. Meaning that if the manager does a loan for $100,000, she would get $50 extra. Also, she will be getting paid when she take maternity. Mainly her job is to answer the phone, input loan application on a computer, and keep in touch with clients. So the next time you think we are being treated fairly by our employers remember, an F/O on a 70 seat a/c, making 36.00/ hr, is roughly being paid $ 0.51/ hr by his/her company for each passenger if the plane is full. How much is a ticket now days?
As a side note, the assistant lives in Texas. Where the average home cost, in a good neighborhood, is between $120-$180. Good luck to all of you F/O’s who live on the coasts.