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Comment by yodsanklai | Hacker News Reader

A friend of mine is a pilot on long flights. He said that the great thing about his job is that he can totally switch off from work as soon as he leaves the plane. Feels like the best of both world. High paid job without the stress.

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For the other curious:

https://epicflightacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/maj...

https://epicflightacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/car...

It's way higher than what I expected.

I could be mistaken, but I recall reading that there are quite a few hoops to jump through before you can fly for the big boys. For example, you would typically start with shorter/less important routes on smaller airlines. Also, the pilot unions keep the good routes (and salaries) for the more senior pilots, so tenure plays a big part in how much you get paid.

I’m hardly an expert, but I understand it could take 15-20 years of a flying career before you reach the point of being a “first-year captain” at a major airline (the first column in this chart).

Yes, exactly. Expect to spent at least 10 years as a first officer before getting a shot at Captain. I’d wager that Covid has pushed that out to 15 years. I have family and friends who are pilots, and the landscape is brutal with yearly pay rises falling far short of inflation in a lot of cases, and bonuses being minimal or non existent for the last few years

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