Flight Training - July 2015 - 48

ADVANCED PILOT»

RECENT SAMPLING OF AVJOB'S LISTINGS
Position

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Captain

$75,000/yr

$87,500/yr

$100,000/yr

Corporate pilot

$50,000/yr

$60,000/yr

$70,000/yr

Embraer 110 pilot captain

$35,000/yr

$37,500/yr

$40,000/yr

Flight instructor

$10/hr

$15/hr

$20/hr

Pilot captain Cessna 208

$33,000/yr

$36,500/yr

$40,000/yr

Beechjet 400a first officer

$75,000/yr

$87,500/yr

$100,000/yr

Beechjet 400a lead captain

$110,000/yr

$125,000/yr

$140,000/yr

Cessna 208 pilot-captain

$33,000/yr

$36,500/yr

$40,000/yr

Chief pilot

$27.96/hr

$34.25/hr

$40.54/hr

Chief pilot and assistant chief pilot

$70,000/yr

$80,000/yr

$90,000/yr

Eurocopter EC130 Chicago tour pilot

$40,000/yr

$50,000/yr

$60,000/yr

Electric utility patrol officer

$45,000/yr

$55,000/yr

$65,000/yr

ERJ 145 captain

$60,000/yr

$65,000/yr

$70,000/yr

ERJ 145 first officers

$40,000/yr

$42,500/yr

$45,000/yr

Flight operations inspector

$77,147/yr

$92,506/yr

$107,865/yr

Helicopter CFI/CFII

$25/hr

$37.50/hr

$50/hr

Helicopter flight instructor

$25/hr

$32.50/hr

$40/hr

Logistic-crew manager

$30,000/yr

$35,000/yr

$40,000/yr

Metroliner captains

$35.92/hr

$39.50/hr

$43.08/hr

Pilot

$35,000/yr

$37,500/yr

$40,000/yr

Pilot-captain Embraer 110

$35,000/yr

$37,500/yr

$40,000/yr

Professional aerobatic instructor

$76,000/yr

$83,000/yr

$90,000/yr

Professional all-attitude instructor

$76,000/yr

$83,000/yr

$90,000/yr

Summer Robinson R22 rice pollination

$35/hr

$42.50/hr

$50/hr

Unusual attitude-upset recovery

$76,000/yr

$83,000/yr

$90,000/yr

PILOT CAREER SALARY, wage, and pay information as of May 6, 2015. Worldwide companies, legacy, major,
low-cost, national, regional, and cargo earnings. Current salary and hourly new hire earnings as reported by
participating aviation employers. Data courtesy Avjobs.

tion careers" into a search engine
and you'll find a dizzying compilation of pilot and industry pay.
At www.fapa.aero, you will learn
what brand-new first officers will
earn at the jet carriers. So when
you leave the left seat of a regional
jet after grossing, say, $70,000
annually, you will-according to
FAPA-pull in less than $40,000 at
some big jet airlines. Of course, that
pay accelerates nicely by year five,
but for the first year or two, the
kids might need to take on a paper
route to help support the family.
To get to those handsome fiveyear salaries, you will more than

48 /

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

likely need to spend your apprenticeship at a regional carrier. In
2014, the Air Line Pilots Association posted the 10 airlines with the
lowest first-year pilot salaries:
Great Lakes
$14,616
Silver Airways
$18,693
SkyWest
$20,064
Mesa Airlines
$20,183
GoJet Airlines
$20,504
Republic
$20,655
ExpressJet
$20,745
ASA
$20,907
Trans States
$21,531
PSA
$21,600
Certainly, more income is possible through overtime and by

bidding additional flights up to the
regulatory maximum, but according
to ALPA, first-year first officers can
expect these numbers as base pay.
As for corporate pilots, Professional Pilot magazine is one of
the leading resources for salary
information. But, like so much
salary information out there, pay
ranges depicted are not associated
with individual companies. For
example, Citation X captains can
be found making a high of $137,000,
an average of $112,000, and a low of
$85,000. That is a fairly large range.
How those figures are derived and
from where is a mystery.
About the only outfit that is
dedicated exclusively to aviation
jobs in all sectors is Avjobs Inc.,
which operates the website www.
avjobs.com. This organization has
numerous industry clients that
encompass all facets of aviation,
not just pilots. Its entire mission is
to bring together applicants with
employers, and it offers a variety
of services for both the job seeker
and the hiring company. One of
its unique features is an email
sent weekly to its subscribers that
details new aviation jobs not only
nationally, but also in their geographic area.
For anyone engaged in an aviation program at a bona fide college
or university, Avjobs will offer a
free membership if you mention
Flight Training magazine.
Avjobs' data on job salaries comes
directly from its clients. The numbers in the chart on this page are not
simply industry averages-they're
exactly what an employee will earn
with one of the Avjobs clients beginning the first day on the job. The
low, medium, and high rates are
what actual employers are paying,
and not a speculative model.
Wayne Phillips manages the Airline Training Orientation Program (www.atopjets.
com).

http://www.avjobs.com http://www.avjobs.com http://www.fapa.aero http://www.atopjets.com http://www.atopjets.com http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

Flight Training - July 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - July 2015