Flying Cheap

Since starting out at Eastern and working in the aviation industry all I hear about is pilot shortage this, pilot shortage that. There are view points for any situation and for the pilot shortage there is the following; 1) there is no pilot shortage, the real issue is that Regional carriers do not want to pay the salaries that pilots need. 2) The shortage is very real because the cost of flight training is so expensive that students are not able to get the necessary founds that is needed to get there hours and licenses right away so the longer the students take the longer the seat in the cockpit stays open. In my opinion the second argument is the most valid due to the personal experience with finances.

For the regional pilot shortage is not due to lack of funds for flight training or lack of hours, it is due to when students do pass their flight training and they have a substantial amount of debt built up and they are seeking employment that is paying more then what regional carriers are paying. The average pilots sinks well over a hundred thousand dollars into his or her flight training and education. Salaries at the regionals, meanwhile, begin as low as $20,000 dollars a year, and top out at under six figures. Schedules are demanding and benefits paltry; the relationship between management and the workers is often hostile. On top of all that, the regional industry is highly unstable. Carriers come and go in waves of mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies.(askthepilot) 

For my main belief that there is a shortage is due to how expensive it is for flight instruction. The average cost to obtain your private is anywhere between $8,000 to $18,000 nut it all depends on the aircraft you are flying, anywhere from the C150 to a 172 or a Piper. Then you go into your instrument which is around $18,000, commercial is about another $18k or so, then you have your Multi which is about an additional $6,000 and finally but not last you have your CFI which is about $12,000. That adds up, after all the cost you end up graduating with over 300 hours, now where do you get the rest of the 1500? by flight instruction or working for a cargo company. Flight instructor pay is not even 25,000 a year. so I believe this is the main shortage for pilots.

Flying Cheap
1) Professionalism- to me this word means, being able to perform all task that is required with great knowledge and skill
2) First thing I found to be unprofessional with Colgan Air is that there was a lack of CHeck Airmen and that the second huge concern for me was that the FO was sick and tired from travelling across the Country for her duty shift. She was not able to pay for a hotel and she should of called fatigue or the captain should of called fatigue for her.
3) I believe that the compensation structure had a huge part in the unprofessional-ism shown in the documentary because if you are an employee and you are being over worked and under paid you are more likely to not be as motivated by other employees who get paid what the job is actually worth.
4) I plan to keep my professionalism like I always have, stay motivated and work as hard as I can, one thing I am appreciative about being in the Army, the discipline, the structure and the professionalism they taught me I will carry it over to my current and future employers. Also with school it has taught me to be responsible about completing assignments on time so that would help with completing task for a company.

References:
pilot-shortage/
http://mashable.com/2016/04/20/regional-pilot-shortage/#UzoY2m3TCgqE