Pay Comparability: U.S. Navy Pilots vs. Airline Pilots

In: Armed forces & society, Band 15, Heft 2, S. 271-281

Abstract

This article's findings contradict the conventional wisdom that Navy pilots who leave to become airline pilots do better financially. Under the most favorable assumptions for the airlines, the present value of income for a pilot who leaves the Navy as soon as eligible is 0.6 percent less than the present value for a pilot who stays. Under more plausible assumptions, the present value for the pilot who leaves the Navy is as much as 9.1 percent less. This result does not imply that the Navy pays pilots too generously. If the Navy is not reaching its retention goals and if those goals have been set optimally-then the service is not paying pilots enough, even if they receive more than civilians in comparable jobs.