Seems like you can better your career path locally than take $11+ per hour.
Thing is, he could probably barista at Starbucks and make more and get respectable benefits. But that's not gonna fill the passion he wants of being a pilot. And I get the passion part though I'm not a pilot.
I'm not pilot, but I travel a lot and talk to a few of them while they commute home on the purple 737s with me. SoonerATC can correct me if I'm wrong, but they pretty much work through crap and make crap until/unless they get on flying for a major carrier. Regional and other pilot gigs are just "foot in the door" until the break for the larger, unionized carrier. It's notably worse in Oklahoma where flights are are slim compared to larger metro markets that have both major and discount carriers.
To answer the question, if I were single, younger - and could live without rent (that is, maybe a mini storage and crash at a friends or whatever), I might could try the $20k per year and to work my way up the ranks. Any family around, especially if in the same household, I'd need the home gig that pays more money.