Flying Cheap and Professionalism

Professionalism: Courtesy and respect for co-workers in and out of the workplace.

I recently watched a documentary called "Flying Cheap", a documentary about the regional airline industry. Above, I stated my definition of professionalism because it had recently came to mind when I was watching this documentary. In this documentary, the viewers got an inside look at the life of a regional airline pilot. It wasn't very glamorous like I think many people who are not privy to the world of aviation would expect it to be. I was also pretty shocked when I watched this documentary. It made me not want to have a career as a pilot at all.
During the documentary, it showed some of the living conditions and long hours many regional pilots had to work and live in. A regional airline is a smaller carrier for a major airline. Pilots need a certain hour requirement and a certain level of experience to work at these major airlines. The regional air carriers are a perfect and are the main way for pilots to do so. During the video, pilots showed the film crew where they would spend the nights in between work. These places were called "crashpads".
Pilots at the regionals did not make a lot of money so many pilots would group together and buy a small apartment so they had a place to stay and it was very cheap. They made so little, they couldn't afford even a hotel room to spend the night. It was sickening to watch and think that I could possibly be in that position one day.
The goal of the regional airlines and any other airlines for that matter is to make money. At the end of the day, that is the goal of any company or business. After watching the video and seeing the conditions the pilots had to live in due to money, I don't think it is very professional for the employer of the pilots to let it go on. As I stated earlier, professionalism is respect and courtesy for co-workers in and out of the workplace.
So how did it get this way? Many believe there is a pilot shortage in the United States today. Others think that there isn't a pilot shortage but the problem is pilot pay. I believe it is a little bit of both that is causing these unprofessional working conditions.
There was a big boom of pilots after World War II and any other war for that matter. For a long time that is how many airlines got their pilots. For a long time even I thought that the only way you could become an airline pilot was through the military. There were a surplus of pilots after the war so airlines were more than willing to give them a job flying again.
Now there is a little different and more expensive route for people, like myself, who want to become a professional pilot. Now people have to learn how to fly through flight schools. The student has to pay a decent amount of money to get their licenses and ratings to qualify to get jobs in the industry. Regulations have also made it harder for a civilian such as myself to get to become a professional pilot.
The crash of Colgan air in 2009 was thought to be an effect of the pilots not having a lot of experience. As a result, there is now a minimum 1,500 hour requirement for pilots to be a co pilot for an air carrier. This is a very big increase of time, where as before pilots could get hired at an airline with as little as 300 hours.
So now many people who want to get into a pilot career have to spend a lot more time and money to get there and if the regionals are not paying the pilots enough there isn't a lot of motivation for people to pursue a career in the aviation industry. This is causing people to not have a desire for this career and in turn resulting in less pilots for the industry.