Ten most overpaid jobs

[mckpickle]

Posted on the Calex Board.


Captain Duane E. Woerth response!
14 November 2003

Dear Mr. Pummer:

I read with some interest your recent story on the 10 most overpaid professions in the U.S., in which you included pilots for major airlines. That was certainly an odd choice since the only salary expert you quoted told you that, “You wouldn’t want to board a plane flown by a second-rate pilot.”

Well, thanks to the finest cadre of pilots in the entire world, you never will have to board such a plane. Today’s airline pilots are the most qualified and well trained professionals ever to climb into a cockpit. The 66,000 members of the Air Line Pilots Association, whom I have the privilege to represent, deliver millions of Americans and thousands of tons of cargo safely to their destinations year after year, decade after decade.

These pilots fly around the clock, every day of the year (including weekends and holidays) in a demanding, increasingly complex – and dangerous – environment. My members make a good living, but believe me, they earn it every day. Keep in mind that pilots at the major U.S. carriers have been extremely hard hit, with thousands on furlough and pilots at United, US Airways and American making deep concessions to help keep their airlines economically viable.

As for the actual figures, pilots at Northwest Airlines (my company) earn about $35,000 in their first year. Veteran captains who do earn six-figure salaries are the backbone of the airline and a critical resource for every other pilot in the system. Meanwhile, at commuter airlines such as Mesaba, pilot pay ranges from about $17,000 a year for new pilots to $24,000 a year for third-year pilots. A Mesaba captain with over 14 years of experience earns about $75,000 a year.

Remember, airlines consider that pilots are “working” only when their airplanes are moving. Time spent flight planning and performing required pre- and post-flight checks is not counted, although they’re still on duty and responsible for your safety. Add in time waiting in airports between flights, and it's not uncommon for pilots to work a 12-hour day but only be paid for five. In fact, the typical pilot spends over 300 hours “at work” each month.

Please revise your list.

Sincerely,
Captain Duane E. Woerth
President
Air Line Pilots Association, International

__________________

 

[Hansel]

All a writer would need to do to substantiate his reportings , is quote numerous threads on these forums where the pilot has said how easy their job is and they can't believe they get paid to do it.

 

[A Squared]

The article posted by wankel appears to do more harm that good in improving the public's image of pilots. Let's take a look at some of this through the average Joe's eyes. The article trots out the tired old .... "we're special, we spend so much time away from home" line. Umm yeah, so do long haul truckers, offshore oil workers, North Slope oilfield workers, traveling salesman, manufacturer's tech reps, merchant seamen, overseas construction workers, and many, many, other workers, many of whom spend more time away from home under less favorable conditions, with less time off for a lot less money. Your average non-pilot reader knows this and quite reasonably asks; "What makes pilots so special?"

Incredibly, the writer attempts to portray airline flying as fraught with dangers....please, Flying for a major 121 carrier is pretty safe as occupations go ... compare the statistics to construction workers, loggers, firemen, longshoremen, policemen, farm workers ... occupations that actually are dangerous. A number of accidents are mentioned to emphasize the dangers of being a pilot, but the writer seems oblivious to the fact that these pilots died surrounded by hundreds of passengers who died also. One is left with the impression that in the writer's view, it is the pilot's deaths which are the important aspect of these crashes, (The Price") never mind that in half the accidents mentioned, the pilots' actions were at the root of the accident. Sorry, it's going to be hard to sell the average joe on the idea that a pilot deserves a quarter of a million dollars a year because if the pilot screws up and kills all his passenger, the pilot gets killed too.

When the writer delves into his tirade on war, it seems that he thinks only pilots go to war and get shot at. When he's thumping his chest about flying Cobras in Vietnam, the guy reading just might not have been working on a master's degree, he have been down in that jungle, knee deep in mud getting his ass shot off in a war he didn't volunteer for. (pilots don't get drafted) If the reader saw combat service in any of the wars mentioned, he just might resent the implication that wars are won by pilots.

While I'm sure that it felt good to the writer to vent his spleen a little, I think your average non-pilot reader will be left with an image of pilots are arrogant boastful elitists. Maybe sending "open letters" such as this to the newspapers really doesn't serve our interests in the long run.

 

[GuppyPuppy]

Maybe he could write an article titled "Ten most underpaid jobs in the U.S.".

I would guess the number one, most underpaid job is a pilot.

GP

 

[A Squared]

Maybe he could write an article titled "Ten most underpaid jobs in the U.S.".

I would guess the number one, most underpaid job is a pilot.

GP

Yeah, that's the thing, you don't see those sorts of articles, the ones about the regional FO's who qualify for public assistance. Even diring the Comair strike that was rarely mentioned other than in the local (to comair cities) news.