It's pretty bad. Yes, once you get the brass ring of 777 captain at a major airline, it's $300k. You need 1500 hours even to be in the right seat at a regional airline now though. Since everyone needs those hours, it's hard to get them without paying for them. You can instruct, but there are only so many students, so you spend a lot of time sitting around or doing unpaid work for the flight school. People tend to get creative like going overseas, working for almost nothing for marginal cargo operators, etc. Ultimately, you're probably going to pay about $70 per hour of flight time, whether it's cash or opportunity cost. Ultimately, IMO the best way to hit the magic number is to buy a very fuel efficient trainer and spend a year or two flying around a whole lot.
The number of years it takes to go from regional FO to major Captain is extremely dependent on the economy. Since everything is based on seniority, if there is a downturn, airlines fly less flights and need less pilots, so basically your career goes on hold because no one is getting promoted. When things are good, you move quickly up the ranks.
To your direct question, once you have all of your ratings and your 1500 hours, plus a 4 year college degree (required at major airlines) (figure 6 years and $200-250k in debt), at 2 years you are probably FO at a regional, $50k/yr. At 5 years, captain at a regional, 80k/yr, 10 years, FO at a major, $150k/yr.
If the economy tanks, you stall and might be laid off or furloughed. If your airline goes bankrupt, you scramble to find another job and start at the bottom of the FO totem pole again. If you have almost any health problem or require most any medication, you lose your medical and find another line of work. If further automation leads to a single pilot cockpit (fairly likely IMO in the next 20 years), you either lose your job or take a big pay cut.
The number of years it takes to go from regional FO to major Captain is extremely dependent on the economy. Since everything is based on seniority, if there is a downturn, airlines fly less flights and need less pilots, so basically your career goes on hold because no one is getting promoted. When things are good, you move quickly up the ranks.
To your direct question, once you have all of your ratings and your 1500 hours, plus a 4 year college degree (required at major airlines) (figure 6 years and $200-250k in debt), at 2 years you are probably FO at a regional, $50k/yr. At 5 years, captain at a regional, 80k/yr, 10 years, FO at a major, $150k/yr.
If the economy tanks, you stall and might be laid off or furloughed. If your airline goes bankrupt, you scramble to find another job and start at the bottom of the FO totem pole again. If you have almost any health problem or require most any medication, you lose your medical and find another line of work. If further automation leads to a single pilot cockpit (fairly likely IMO in the next 20 years), you either lose your job or take a big pay cut.