Hi everyone,

i've just started the whole process of getting my license with the ultimate goal of getting my commercial license and possibly up to CFII.  I've been hearing that the job market is going to really improve over the next few years since most of the private sector jobs with open up due to the retirement of ex-military pilots of the Vietnam era.

However, i've been hearing about a lot of people already out there ready to pick up the slack.  So i'm curious, how does the market truely look like?

The other question i have is, why are the salaries so low in comparison to what the cost of training, the danger (hazard pay) and high lever of skill and knowledge, demands?  I've seen that the average pay (overall of all helicopter pilots) is roughly 50k with the lows around 25k and highs of 100k.  Plus a lot of the jobs don't offer any benefits like a decent retirement, insurance etc.

any other insights of what the career's outlook is would be appreciated!

                Thanks