Here is the calculus
If you are a solid squared away guy or gal and you already have quite a bit of Rotor time and experience, you'll likely make a very good fixed wing pilot.
1500 total time of which (I believe) 250 has to be airplane, of which some of that must meet x-country and probably night.
You'll obviously need your Multi/Instrument -
Now, with that out of the way, if the economy stays stable and or continues to grow
1.5 to 2 years in a regional - First year, if you can find a regional with a decent signing bonus, could do north of 60k -
If you play your cards right, get into a Major or Legacy such as Jetblue, Frontier, Spirit, or United, Delta, American
1st year in most of those is a little less than 100K ... 2nd year, 120-150 depending upon the body
Some of them the upgrade time is really low - less than 2 years ... some closer to 5 to 7 depending upon where you're based. Captain pay 200-275k a year on average.
Places like United give you 15% into a retirement plan. So make 200k, you are getting 30k free. Then they also offer a 401k
So, let's back this out and do the math
you're 40 - Get done with all your requirements to get into a regional by 41
Spend 2-3 years in a regional and go into a major / legacy - 44
5 years to upgrade to captain (super conservative) - 49
That gives you 16 years of 250+ income + excellent retirement benefits
That's a realistic view if we don't have another major crisis
I have a friend who left a 115k medevac job, went to the regionals, got hired on with Frontier - He's up to about 140-150k now - Should upgrade to captain this year or next year, and without overtime, he'll be about 210/year ...
Caveat - You can make a lot extra if you know how to work the system, work extra, etc.
Hopefully this helps
FYI I made the switch to corporate aviation at 42, got into a gulfstream at 44 (was a bit lucky) and more than doubled my salary. It worked for me, but everybody's mileage varies. I've considered the airlines, but I'm going to stick here for now.
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