I’m a Delta pilot — I was broke but I ended up making $500,000 a year

The sky’s the limit for a pilot’s income.

A former Delta pilot is speaking out about his impressive salary, saying he raked in half a million dollars per year before his retirement in 2021.

Mark Stephens, 67, began working as a flight engineer on the Delta Lockheed L-1011 back in 1989.

In an essay written for Business Insider, Stephens revealed that he initially “made little money and had to use up all my savings in the first year to get by.”

“Some of my colleagues were on food stamps,” he further wrote.

However, the aeronaut started climbing the Delta ranks, eventually becoming a captain in 2000, when he finally started making a six-figure salary.

Stephens went on to captain five different aircraft in the ensuing two decades — and his income levels soared.

“I was making $500,000 in my last year with Delta,” he revealed. “As an international captain, I got to fly worldwide to places such as Amsterdam, Sydney, and Seoul.”

Stephens left Delta in November 2021, after reaching the mandated retirement age of 65.

He spent 21 years as a captain but says young, aspiring fliers can now spend many more years in the cockpit due to recent changes.

“Pilots can rise through the ranks much younger these days,” he stated. “They could fly as a captain for 35 or even 40 years by the time they have to retire at 65, which was almost unheard of in my time.”

Senior Delta pilots will be making even more money than Stephens, with the carrier recently approving a new contract that will increase wages by a whopping 34% by 2026.

The airline boasts 15,000 pilots, according to The New York Times.

Earnings appear comparable to those at United Airlines — another major American carrier.

In July, United pilots agreed to a new contract valued at $10 billion that would increase pay by up to 40% over four years.