[chasingthewind]

Commercial pilots are actually paid incredibly well. The reason for the shortage seems complex and has to do at least partly with regulations passed that mandate 1500 hours of flight time before one can even apply for a job at an airline.

[4rt]

And also that militaries are training far fewer pilots with the advent/expectation of future wars being primary fought with drones and missiles rather than fighters.

[sulam]

Average entry level pay for pilots in the US is $50K. That’s not only not incredibly well, it’s at best median for most jobs that require formal training and certification.

[seanmcdirmid]

Also, given the automation already present, it’s a stressful job: “pay attention to these computers for 8 hours just in case something happens.”

[Racing0461]

ngl pilots are going to be automated soon for commercial people/cargo for domestic origin/destination. Unlike a truck that has to drive on roads, planes have a large room to make errors. In the future there won't be any pilots or even flight attendants and there would be a designated person on there to land the plane if needed at a much lower salary.