Pilot Career Earnings Top $13M, According to Flight School

Commercial pilot pay is on par with doctors, lawyers, engineers, according to a Southern California flight school.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at 04:33 PM ET

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Pilots in an aircraft flight deck. [Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Airline pilots can achieve career earnings surpassing doctors, lawyers, and engineers, with a significantly shorter education path (months instead of years) and quicker return on investment.
Major airlines have dropped the requirement for a four-year college degree, removing a significant barrier and making the career more accessible and faster to enter.
The current pilot shortage has led to substantially increased salaries, sign-on bonuses, and direct pipelines from flight schools, transforming airline piloting into a highly competitive and respected profession.

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When it comes to career earnings, airline pilots can bring in a salary comparable to a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. That’s according to Torrance, California-based Sling Aviation Academy, a flight school that specializes in accelerated training for persons who want careers as airline pilots.

In a video called “Millionaire by 25 Without College,” Sling Aviation Academy co-CEOs Matt Liknaitzky and Wayne Toddun compare the path to becoming a doctor, lawyer, engineer to that of becoming an airline pilot.