American Airlines pilot's eye-watering paycheck goes viral and people can't believe how much he earns

With the ever-increasing cost of living grinding down what little disposable income we have, many Americans would love to find a job that made their money worries a thing of the past.

But where do you find a job that pays you so much money that you never have to worry about making ends meet?

It turns out that the answer is not working harder in your current employment and hoping for a raise or promotion, but re-training entirely and getting behind the wheel of a Boeing 737. This might seem like a lot of effort, but it might be worth it for the $457,894 annual salary.

At least, that's what one American Airlines pilot has earned in the past year for getting thousands of people safely to their destination, and it's not even at the top end of the pay scale for accomplished pilots.

After posting his eye-watering pay on Reddit, one user pointed out: "Dude makes what I make in a month in a day."

Many others wondered if they were too old to change careers, after realizing they would never earn anything close to a pilot who makes over $360 an hour.

To put salt in the wound, legal guidelines state that pilots can only fly for up to 1000 hours per year, meaning that the pilot racked up a $457,000 payout by working an average of just under 20 hours per week.

And the craziest part of the anonymous salary post, which has since been deleted, is that the pilot isn't even earning as much as some others.

Travel publication One Mile at a Time pointed out that the pilot would earn a whopping 25 percent more if he learned to fly the larger Boeing 777, which would see his basic pay skyrocket to $447 per hour before other benefits.

As the American Airlines pilot's pay stub revealed, many are also being paid a profit share from their employer as an incentive. For some Delta pilots, this means earning over $600K thanks to the company's large profits.

You could easily clear $500,000 if you train to fly the bigger planes (Getty Images)

These massive salaries are also here to stay. Pilots' pay has increased massively in recent years thanks to the profession's strong unions, with workers set to benefit from even more pay rises that are on the cards for next year and the year after that.

But if you want to get in on this lucrative gravy train, you'd better not quit your day job. Gaining the experience and qualifications necessary to fly these large planes takes years and can cost you up to $100k to get the right certifications and time in the sky.

And you won't be earning the big bucks right away, with newbies piloting smaller regional aircraft or flying freight to get the necessary flight hours to step-up to the larger and better paid planes.

A helpful Redditor explained: "It can be anywhere from 9 months to 10 years depending on how much money and time you have.

"You’re looking at $100k+ for all of your certifications and ratings. A first year FO at a regional airline is making around $150k a year, but that’s a long ways away from your discovery flight."

With some bemoaning the massive pay packets, one former pilot shared a pearl of wisdom: "I'm retired now...but when I flew professionally, the generally accepted opinion was that 'you're overpaid almost all the time...until those 30 critical seconds in an emergency when you earn it all'."

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