Quote:
Originally Posted by btimbit
They always have a long line of people joining, the pilot shortage is more about experienced ones leaving after their initial commitment. I don't think new jets alone changes that, not while it's still a miserable place to spend your entire career. As pilots get older (in pilot years at least, like mid 30s) and their jobs transition into more admin and less flying, leaving starts to look pretty good. It's a problem in every air force in the world, it's a blast while you're a junior officer, then it's all politics after that, and not many pilots signed up for the politics
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I've watched a couple of interviews with F-35 pilots that talked about the transition from 4th generation fighters to the Lightning and that its not an easy thing because the mind set is different, and a lot of them talk about it being a combination of a pilot and a hacker in the same suit.
And yeah, usually pilots when they hit their mid 30's are transitioning out of their pilot role. Being a fighter pilot is extremely hard on the body. Add to it that a airline pilot makes $120,000 to $150,000 a year for a easier job.