As a pilot, you have the opportunity to experience crushing poverty and tremendous wealth, all in the space of one career. Most entry level pilots endure long hours with little pay and often no benefits. Some pay to work, while others eke by at less than minimum wage. Commuter F/Os, CFIs and new corporate pilots have been known to need food stamps to get by. They endure this since they know that one day, they'll hit the jackpot by landing a job at one of the big carriers.

There is more to choosing an employer than just the pay rates. A high salary certainly pays for many things that you would get for free elsewhere - but you need to balance salary with benefits and working conditions to get a true picture of your compensation package. You also need to consider what you need to do for the company to collect your salary. See our page entitled "Choosing the Right Employer for You" for further discussion on balancing working conditions and career options with pay.

All benefits have a dollar value, so better benefits with lower pay at one company may be actually a higher net pay rate than what you receive from a company paying a higher salary but poor benefits. Benefits that you don't need or would ever use may have a dollar value, but their net value to you is zero. For example, one company may offer a generous term life insurance policy for free, but if you have no children, spouse or parents counting on your income, then the net value to you is zero. Same with family travel benefits. If you have no family that qualifies (or your airplanes are always full), this is a meaningless benefit. Go for the better pay instead.

Most major airlines and large corporate flight departments offer some or all of the following benefits. For more information, click on the lighter-blue links or hover your mouse over the darker blue links.