Hey all, a few people have had some questions about the break-down of costs for a ATP License at the beginning of this video so I thought I’d try to clear things up and show a few sources for the different components. College Cost: I misplaced the original source that lines up exactly with $133k but this statistic is about the same accounting for yearly growth. www.statista.com/statistics/238112/university-attendance-costs-in-the-united-states/ Private Pilots License: I said $8,000 in the video based off a source’s estimate. Looking at a random selection of flight schools’ estimates it could be even a little higher. Many have also pointed out that the vast majority of individuals can only apply with 40 hours flight time (a small minority of US pilots are trained under Title 14 of federal code part 141 which allow them to apply with 35 hours.) While I was choosing to use the lowest numbers for training as to not sensationalize the cost numbers (it’s sensational enough as it is) I probably should have done the math for 40 hours (maybe even more as many need more hours to gain the skills needed) to get a more average estimate. $9,950: www.illinoisaviation.com/flight-training/private-pilot-141/ $8,123: www.stcharlesflyingservice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CostEstimateToAdvance.pdf $7944: www.flyhafc.com $9500: www.executiveflighttraining.com/Private_Pilot_License.html Instrument Rating: The way I presented this bit was definitely confusing. The $900 I mentioned was accounting for the ground training and then I wrapped the hours needed for an instrument rating into the additional hours needed for a commercial pilots license (215/210.) Commercial Pilots License: From the comments I’ve read nobody really disagrees with the estimate I put for the overall CPL cost but here’s the source I used anyways. $80,000: www.l3airlineacademy.com/us-career-programs/pilot-training-cost

Lufthansa and Emirates got it right. Give aspiring pilots their education for free, and they’ll work exclusively for you for a set amount of years. Everyone wins.

I like how the corporations always talk about the shortage of workers, but never about shortage of good salaries.

airlines: we’re running out of pilots also airlines: we need 1500 hrs and we will give you salary w/ 20% of what you’ve spent to be a pilot

Airline: "man, why can't we hire any pilots???" Pilots: "fucking pay us" Airline: "it's mystery, I guess we'll never know"

It's not a pilot shortage, it's a pay shortage.

“Unfilled by 2020” well, here we are.

This is one of the last jobs we should be underpaying or undertraining people for. The stupidity of corporate executives continues to amaze me.

Before covid hit United airline had over 10,000 applications from fully trained and qualified pilots to fill 30 seats in their training class. Delta had over 14,000 applications. Truth be told the pilot shortage has been seriously over exaggerated. It’s really more of a pay shortage. How the airline treat their pilots goes a long ways too. Highest paying flying jobs are not running out of applicants. Low paying position have struggled to find and ‘keep’ pilots. I spent $83,000 on my flight training. Took me 3 years to pay off that debt. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Flying at 30,000ft navigating around around thunderstorms and shooting a CAT II approach in the dead of night is a thrilling adventure. By far my favorite place I flew into was Cuba.

Ever since Microsoft stop doing Flight Simulator people have stopped becoming pilots. Its thats simple and can be explained in a few seconds.

hey i spent like a quarter of my life, and spent 250k on education. how much is my pay? Airline: McCdonalds pilot: visible confusion

2019: oh no! Impending pilot shortage! 2020: tens of thousands of pilots furloughed in the US

The world is running out of passengers

Becoming a pilot has been my dream job since I was a child, But it's just near impossible because of the cost. It's ridiculous...

$30,000 a year? That's a joke right? That's less than $3,000 a month. That is ridiculous by US standards!

The title should be, "Why the US is running out of pilots."

Another reason for the shortage is the FAA. I was already admitted into flight school but was denied my medical certification due to very minor ADHD. I had neurological testing done and the neurologist said I'd be fit to fly and the FAA still denied me.

I've been a pilot for my entire career. I try and discourage people asking about getting into the career field for several reasons. There is the financial cost obviously, but there is also a very high personal cost. You are away from your family a great deal of the time. You miss birthdays, holidays and many other special occasions. The divorce rate among pilots are of the highest of any other group. I'm one of the lucky ones who has remained married. It's not all about just the cost of training...Good luck

The cost of training is absurd... That's why

Pilot shortage? Corona virus: “SAY NO MORE!!!”

As a Commercial Motor Vehicle driver, this video actually gave me flashbacks of my own experience getting my CDL and becoming a truck driver. While getting a CDL is immensely cheaper and faster than getting a Commercial Pilots License, the experience between the two is eerily similar. For a start, like the Lufthansa pilots I had my formal education subsidized by a trucking company on the condition that I work for that company for 6 months. I saw this as no problem because it meant I had a guaranteed job. But like the airline industry, trucking (and CMV drivers at large) has a unacknowledged shortage of drivers. And yet despite that, base pay has dropped significantly over the last few decades. There are some efforts to improve job satisfaction, but overall the industry refuses to address the core issue: pay. Couple that with a decrease in glamor and pride in being a CMV driver, just like with pilots, and you have an industry that is VERY concerned about its aging workforce. Among other suggestions is to increase automation, again, with significant backlash. Its interesting to me to see another industry sharing so many of the problems as my own.

Wendover Productions doing a video about aviation? Never heard of such madness.

Airlines: Help, we’re running out of pilots! Reasonable person: why not pay entry level pilots a decent salary to attract people to the industry? Airlines: No u

This video didn’t age well...

As a student pilot I can second that I pay 1K out of pocket every 2 weeks 500 hours cross country 100 hours night flight 75 hours IFR type rating 250 minimum pic to get your atp

Supply and demand....time to pay the pilots what they're worth if they are going to attract new pilots.

Them :Requires tons of money to become a pilot Also them : there is shortage of pilots

Oh my god! We are out of pilots. So let's make pilot school as expensive as $100k

The prices at the beginning are on the low side, I've found that 140 will cover a aircraft for an hour, you also pay for a CFI, and 900 for the instrument rating is also on the low end

Does GTA flight missions count as flight hours? Cuz that shit is hard, touch the water and you are dead! Not even Sully could have landed it!

No wonder Tom Cruise was smuggling cigars.

This really needs a 2021 update

This channel is amazing, wish I could find a similar channel but for boats and ships

As a young pilot, I can confidently vouch for the information stated in the video. One thing I would disagree on is the starting salary. $30,000 is a misleading number. I don't believe any airline based in the US, would have the audacity to pay such low salaries. Research indicated the starting salary ranges between 40-50k with a sign on bonus of around 10-20k in the first year. Even though it's not much at the beginning, the end game is always worth the debt and poor salaries. Also, it looks like I'm going to China soon.

Couple of notes as someone who is now entering a regional airline. 1st, an instrument rating costs way more than $900. That's a bare minimum, but no one ever gets it at that cost. $6000 is more realistic. 2nd, The cost for most pilots is actually closer to $150,000. They can do this because the additional flight time is usually bundled in with instrument and commercial training. The video seems to assume that commercial, instrument, and additional flying are all separate, but they are often done simultaneously. 3rd, the maximum flight time for airline pilots is actually 1,000 hours a year, not 900. I understand the confusion on this, since many airlines do advertise their pay assuming 900 a year, but blocks (The amount of time flying each month) usually end up around 85 per pilot per month. Otherwise this is a very accurate video. Just wanted to bring up a few things in case people were wondering.

Hey, I wanted to say thank you for bringing attention to this first and foremost. There are a couple things that need correcting unfortunately. I'm a commercial pilot, CFI, and CFII. The hour requirements for those licenses are actually way higher, and so is the cost. For example Private Pilot is 40 hrs minimum, and usually takes way more hours to get a student pilot proficient. Instrument ratings are very important to have, but require 150 hrs, and don't allow you to fly for compensation or hire. You need Commercial license to get paid to fly. There are exceptions if the training is done via a part 141 flight school, but on average the cost for those schools is much higher than the alternative. You are right about the pay though. Entry level flight instructors only make about $20.00 per hour (in the air) which if you've worked all day and only flew three hours it comes out to $60.00 before taxes. Entry level for the airlines is usually between 35k - 50k to start out, and you really don't make decent money until making it tot he majors (Delta, United, Southwest, etc.) Overall the mean cost of becoming an airline pilot is about 200k if you include the degree.

I worked as a flying instructor in Europe on a good living wage with all benefits for many years. Our customers were large well known international airlines who recruited their own trainee pilots. The individual companies paid for all of their cadet pilots training costs and when qualified employed them as first officers on a reduced, but still good salary for approx three years to recoup their training costs. It always struck me as a win win situation.

They need to do one of two things 1. Pay the cost of training pilots 2. Instead of requiring college degrees, don’t.

Because regional airlines are unwilling to pay competitive wages. There isn't a shortage of pilots, but a shortage of good-paying pilot jobs.

Props to the cockpit officials and crew official....that is why we have to have a nice smile and spirit for these folks.

In 2023 I will have had 6 years of military service with my PPL and IFR ratings and an associates degree in Unmanned Aircraft Sciences. I plan on attending a 4 year Professional Pilot degree program at Purdue or UND and do a career pathway with one of the big dogs (hopefully cargo). Even with the GI Bill covering tuition to get my BS, I'll still have to come up with about $68k for flight training. Is it ridiculously expensive? Yes Could I become a UAV pilot in the civilian world and make $100k/yr starting? Yes But I know that I won't be content with myself until I am getting paid at FL300. If you want it, you'll make a plan, and execute. Be aware of the numbers, but if you REALLY want it, don't let the numbers scare you. You got this. Good luck to all the future aviators of this planet!

to me the solution seems simple, its the massive upfront cost of becoming a pilot in the first place thats discouraging people, airlines should be subsidizing promising students to encourage more people to become pilots

pilots: We don't want to work for such low wages Airlines: Let's hire women to do it lmao

Thank you for this vital information for younger aspirants to become civil pilot sir :)

I really love the videos of aviation you make thank you!

My recommendation for those wanting to fly as a career (I was an airline pilot and have about 10 years of airport ops / management experience). Don't bother with a college degree upon graduating from high school. Save your money and get your flight training done first from a reputable flight school where you ARE NOT paying for the entire flight training up front. You may realize in flight school that flying is not for you and you don't want to be stuck with debt. Once you complete your "zero to hero" flight training, get your flight instructor certifications and teach as a part time job while pursuing a college degree. This way you are getting paid to fly (as an instructor), you are building flight time to the magic 1500 hours, and you are getting a degree in something OTHER THAN AVIATION.

Tell this to my uber driver who studied years to become a pilot...

you also need a CFI licenese, and a multi engine rating, and a IFR rating. all of which combine to 60-80k for all of them.

As someone actually building hours I can tell you it's a pain and you better have tons of cash or loans ready. I have had several instructors in well over 100k because they went to a flight academy before becoming an instructor. They have job offers left and right once they are almost at 1500 hours so they are gone as soon as they hit that magic number. My flight school alone has lost 6 instructors in less than a year. American pilots have a very hard time building 1500 hours while other countries don't demand as many hours. I know some will say it's for safety but when a kid with a college degree from an aviation school can go in at 1,000 hours but a kid with a degree or no degree from a non aviation school has to wait till 1500 hours....is that fair?? Maybe they need to drop the hours to 1,000 for all! Just my 2 cents but hey, I only have 400 something hours. I even sold one of my cars to buy an older plane to build hours in each week.

My dad was a pilot with Ansett Airlines before 9/11. After Ansetts 2001 collapse and Virgin's snapping up most of their workforce, dad ended up working for smaller commercial charter lines and eventually worked as a check and training pilot. Throughout this entire time he was making under 50 thousand AUD a year while supporting me and my 3 brothers. Note, he never had the experience to captain jetliners and would only be able to have gotten co-pilot roles or captaincy on freight or private charter flights. Eventually he hung up his wings in the mid 2000s and now works as a SAR co-coordinator in the aviation monitoring and co-ordination team. He now makes about 130,000 AUD a year working 12 hours shifts 3-4 days a week and enjoys his work-life balance but also regrets no longer flying. Even today, he's unsure if he would even consider returning to fly due to how much less he would be making. He knows how bad the industry shortage is and thinks that airlines need to introduce drastic measures to sponsor or contribute towards pilots training costs or face massive shortages in the next two decades.

1:44 9ft tall 300lb 3 year old toddler pilot with jaundice disease...hell yeah...i'm riding that plane

In my country if you want to become a pilot you can enroll in the national airlines' pilot course without going to college. You don't have to pay them anything. You sign a contract when you start the course which guarantees a job at that airline and they take the expenses out of a small portion of your salary each month. And it is one of the most high paying jobs in here. But the physical and mental health requirements are kind of high.

0:37 Wendover I never knew you weigh 300 LBS

Pay them more to start. $25k is a joke after you spend tens of thousands on training. Also the divorce rate is very high. Don't get married.

Mr. Wendover, That was a pretty good report but as an airline pilot recruiter I need to add a little flourish. We get plenty of qualified applicants (on paper at least) but at the interviews personality issues often arise. I cannot go into details but it is fair to say that there are some technically qualified people that you do not want on property. Also, many countries actually train pilots from the ground up (Germany, Japan, China) just like the military. The day of the single pilot cockpit is coming and will likely start with freight operators. In 10-15 years, it may slowly gravitate to passenger operations. We can thank the advances in UAVs for that. You are correct in your assessment of economics. The costs of operating an airline are insane. One empty flight can wipe out the profit of 5 full ones (depending on your revenue scheme). The reduction in both the size of military aviation and general aviation has produced a two-pronged attack on the airlines. When I became a pilot, you spent at least 5 years at a regional airline (but often 8+) with your last 3-5 years as a type rated captain/pilot in command (PIC) before getting picked up at a major airline. Now your upgrade in 6 months to a year and are often recruited in about 2-3 years. The increasing training expenses have caused some regional airlines to offer cash retention bonuses. When I tried to break in in the early 90s, ‘commuter’ airlines wanted you to pay between $7,500-$13,000+ to cover the cost of your training and the interview consisted of the check clearing. Since I refused (and didn't have the money regardless) my career was stalled for some years. That all ended after the Valujet crash in Florida in 1996. After that the FAA made all scheduled carriers operate under CFR part 121 instead of the much looser CFR part 135 that commuter airlines had operated under before. Training programs went from a week to a month and the associated costs soared with them. Now pilots were not so cheap. Understand that a new hire first officer is essentially doing an apprenticeship and is aware that the pay off is down the road. They key is to get in as early as you can to maximize earnings on the more lucrative back end. I still fly and I love it but that is me. Most folks are just trying to earn as good a living as they can and business is trying to maximize profits. Hopefully they can all exist in the overlap of the Venn diagram. Cheers, Captain Max

My brother-in-law flies for sky west. He lives in Colorado, but his home base is somewhere out east (forget where) so he has to fly out there the day before and stay in a hotel, THEN he actually works

The route United cut was not to Willard, IL but to Willard Airport serving Champaign and Urbana, IL which is where the University of Illinois is located.

We're running out of pilots because 21 of them formed a band.

Starting pay as low as $30,000 a year? and 200k in debt? you better off working at a Walmart or something full time. that's pretty off putting.

Lots of airline pilots are retired military who don’t have any of the financial challenges the young civilian aviator has. I’m surprised that wasn’t mentioned. Almost every retired military pilot I’ve grown up around then went on to the airlines. I grew up in an Air Force family, in Air Force heavy churches all my life.

Anyone paid attention to the license in 0:38 ? The man was born in 2015, Eyes are yellow, Hair is grey, Weight is 300, Height is 108 and the license was issued in 2018 !??!!

The awful starting pay and working conditions are why I left the pilot track. I got my private pilot's license and a degree in computer science. After graduating, I could either get a programmer job that starts at 75K or become a flight instructor making barely above minimum wage. Edit: Also, there's a lot of competition from ex-military pilots. They have a lot of hours, less debt, and military training.

As a retired airline pilot I am so thankful I got in the game in the 1960s! What I feel was the golden age of airline flying! The transition from piston to turbine engines was in full swing, it was a proud profession, and we were respected. Now, with the current dog and pony show with airport security and other things I wouldn't go that route. It also doesn't help that we have to retire at a government mandated age when at the top of our game whether or not we are still able to cut it!

It’s crazy how companies in general will just try everything except pay more and improve working conditions.

All the young pilots out their- well mom i guess im moving to china😂

My Dad is a pretty senior pilot at FeDex, so I always saw him having an awesome life from my perspective as a young dude. So I tried the route, went to flight school for a while and realized my mistake. You’ve gotta love flying, I just couldn’t come out of school with close to 300 in debt. Anyway my point I’m trying to get to for you young guys who think it would be awesome is think about why you want to do it. The only day dream I had about my future was telling people at my highschool reunion I was a pilot. I think that’s a pretty bullshit day dream. Hope that makes sense guys, try following a debt free route where your day dream just involves you and not made for people who you hope to show. It’s a lonely road, and I respect the insane ones who can give up the life I think I need. Then they go fly the machine. Just couldn’t be a path for me. Thanks for reading

I'm a high school teacher in Australia. At our school, we offer aviation as an optional subject in the 10th grade. For those who choose it, they end up getting their solo pilot's license to complete the course. It costs extra money on top of school fees, but it means they are qualified to fly a plane before they leave school. This gives them a huge leg up when it comes to applying for commercial pilot licences.

Honestly, Flying for Emirates and Etihad seems like a good deal with the salaries and school paid for.

Coming from someone who is in college with an aerospace major and is in the process of becoming a pilot, the upfront costs are truly terrifying to looks at. It is roughly 15k for my private license through the school, and that’s excluding every single other class I have to take for my major. Another contribution to the lack of pilots, especially here, is how competitive the program here is, as in to get into the program and be eligible to get your license through the school, you must have a minimum of a 3.0, but they prioritize the kids with higher gpa’s first. The kids that don’t have that will either go to an external school, or completely change their major since they either can’t go through the school and all the flight programs here are completely overloaded due to people not being able to go through the school, so I feel part of the problem of a pilot shortage is the overall scarcity of actual flight schools, and the places that do have one have more or less have total control over the prices their students pay.

Why the world is running out of pilots? Because you can make $500K a flight for the Sinaloa Cartel!

Does the flight simulator x hours count?

I once was thinking about becoming a Pilot. It kind of is a dream job, flying out of passion and get paid for it. When I looked at how expensive it is to get a pilot license, especially for big commercial planes and saw how bad working conditions can be.....yeah I'll stay in IT. Maybe one day I am going to get a license for smaller planes and do sight seeing tours for tourists as a side gig. (I wouldn't even mind flying Antonov AN-2's and fly people and cargo to remote hard to reach areas. Sadly that's not really something you can do if you want to have a stable family life. I'd prefer to spend time with my kids, even if flying cargo to a little Air Strip in the middle of a Jungle sounds more adventurous...)

the pay is high enough in my opinion, but I think federal regulations are suffocating. Airlines could offer some better training and pay a low wage for some years

@1:01 The Certification Number on the license is 4 8 15 16 23 42 which were common recurring numbers in TV series Lost. Pretty neat.

Because everyone that's applying has their *heads in the clouds?*

And, in 2020, I can confirm with absolute confidence that the problem has been solved.

So I'm absolutely certain that that multicolored plane closer to the start of the video was that of Trent Palmer. Informative video.

As somebody who wants to go to flight school but is bogged down by bureaucracy and cost, I say they need to find a way to bump up Regional pilot pay and lower flight school costs

I never took physics, and I’m not great at math, and I fly 767’s. Really you just need to be able to multiply, add, and subtract. Nobody is doing complex equations in the cockpit.

At 8:19, United ended service to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. The airport name is Willard, not the city. Also CMI is central Illinois, not southwest as shown in the video. Couldn’t resist pointing that out as someone living here 😂 but yes, losing UA was rough. We have American here and they’re successful, but we miss that competition.

QUESTION - I always heard that to fly a commercial jet required 10,000 flight time - which was only possible in the military. I don't recall hearing the military mentioned one time. That used to be the major conduit for pilots - other than crop dusting. Almost every pilot was a veteran - that is where they were trained. What are the implications of reduced military spending/voluntary enlistment on the pilot numbers?

Your pilot's license is for someone 3 years old, 9 feet tall, and 300 pounds. 😂

I passed all my flight sim x tutorials, hire me?

Me:wants to be a pilot * Finds out it will costs almost 3 million Rands * Me:"Ohh no, anyway"

What? Every link I find on google talking about the average pilot salary always puts it in 6 figures.

If I win the lottery, I want to become a pilot. Problem is I don't play the lottery... Oh well, no licence for me then :/

Seems like a good job until you get into the details

Ahh the common American problem of Employer: "Why aren't people working" Employee: "PAY US" Employer: "no" Employee: "Then we won't work" *Go back to first dialogue

This video crushed my dreams

The best advice I ever received was "If you want to be a pilot, find a great job and fly for fun, not for work." I've watched a good friend go through three marriages, missing his children's milestones, being gone for months at a time, going completely broke, all chasing that left seat in a wide body. I skipped Spartan in Tulsa, went to school for IT, got a great job, bought my own plane and fly when I want to.

Wow! Is that true? Here in Indonesia our media keep telling us, there are so many unemployed pilot here ..

In my home screen right next to this video was a South China Morning Post video about a Filipino C-130 Hercules crashing.

Oh boy, this video aged well after 3 years hahaha

When I called my local flight school and they told me how much it would cost, I remember saying “If I had that kind of money, I wouldn’t be looking for a new career path.” Looking into it more after hearing the ridiculous requirements, i was stunned to hear about pilot flop-houses, a pilot that only made $16,000 their first year at a regional airline, and a pilot that actually PAID an airline to fly a cargo plane so they could build up hours. Yeah you’ll have a shortage if your only recruits are willing to incur massive debt, or are already so rich that they don’t care about money.

in eu I finished my pilot licence by 2011, Looked for a job for a year, got one interview where they selected 2 people from the 'preferred' school instead (;read 10000 per student under the table money I discovered later by working in said company as a CCM) Out of 21 people in my year at the flight school that passed, 3 people have jobs, one guy a norwegian his family had connections with norweigian company, 2nd guy paid for 'line training' basicaly paying 200k+ to have a right seat on a cargo plane or some such for 500 hours experience, he works in hong kong now, 3rd guy his father got him into iberia regional in spain as his father is also a pilot, he got that after 6 years waiting. 18 other people do not work for commercial companies, some went instructor route, I have met other would be pilots who finished more recently and none of them got a job either. In europe things are very bad. If you talk to people how to get a guaranteed job, they talk about the 200k line training, or going down and working in africa. As of now I doubt ill ever work as a pilot, even if i am qualified. It's too corrupt. Big companies in any industry are shit yeah ok but in aviation it really seems they take the piss. What's sad is my story is a common one.

One of the things that US airlines have also traditionally done is recruited pilots who flew in the military. (Other nations' airlines can do this too, but they have much smaller numbers of veteran pilots to recruit this way.) Recruitment of veterans as they leave the military works because a veteran doesn't emerge from service in crippling debt. Rather, they typically emerge from service with a large sum of cash in their pocket. This is because many are sent on tours of duty overseas that end shortly before the end of their enlistment period (or extend past the end of their enlistment period in which case their enlistment period is extended to cover the entire deployment). A veteran will often emerge from service with plenty of cash reserves because they were severely limited in how they could spend money while overseas, and then can enter straight into service as an airline pilot without all the college, private pilot's license, commercial pilot's license, flight school, or plane rentals. The US military is extremely air-focused, far more than any other military in the world. The US Air Force is the world's largest air force, followed by the second place US Navy and fourth place US Army. The US military has thousands of pilots that fly everything from small fighter jets to massive cargo aircraft. This eliminates basically all of those expensive steps that pilots have to go through to become commercial airliner pilots -- a USAF veteran who served as a pilot will emerge from his six year tour of duty with all the flight hours necessary to immediately enter service as a pilot of a commercial airliner. The problem airlines are running into now is how much drone warfare the US does now. Drone pilots are not airplane pilots and cannot be easily converted into airliner pilots. A drone pilot would emerge from the military and maybe get a job flying those FBI drones like the ones whose footage we saw in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, but would not be able to fly an airliner. The phasing out of many strike aircraft pilots in favor of drone operators is reducing the number of trained, airline-ready pilots emerging from the military.

2020. We are witnessing history. Something to share with our kids when we grow old.

Ah, back to the usual Wendover programming.

Freight pilot here. Somehow your total number for the cost of school was correct, but your flight hour requirements were way off.

Thank god I live in the UK,I'm a student pilot and payed 52k for my flight training and the starting salary for the airline I wanna join is 50k(easyjet) so I pretty much cover the costs in one year