re: Screw being an operator, I want to be a river pilot.

quote:

---

You think they're just going to pass out pilot licenses to just anyone after 12 months??

---

I think the Coast Guard will issue licenses to everyone who passes the required examinations. I realize having a Coast Guard issued license isn't going to get you a gig as a pilot on the Mississippi River. The pilots' associations have a monopoly on them, and they award them based on criteria they control (nepotism being the primary qualification). It is the criteria of the pilots' associations that cause the 10 year training period.

So the child of a pilot becomes a crew member at 18. He spends 10 years getting paid while undergoing the training the pilots' association mandates. He becomes a pilot by 30. He has at least 25 years of earning >$400,000. That's at least $10 million of career earnings.