Something I posted on a pilot forum that sums it up:

Ever since I passed my initial checkride, I’ve been sort of “on the fence” about this job. I loved the flying, enjoyed hanging with the crews, but LOATHE the lifestyle. I just yearn to be next to my wife in my own bed on those nights when sleeping at a hotel or in my crashpad (I commute). I told myself I’d give it a year and see what I thought. That year came and went and I am still on the fence about this job. I’ve given my wife whiplash with all the back and forth that I have done with this gig. Now that the economy is going into the crapper, this place is downsizing, I am losing seniority, and even my commuting flights are become less frequent, and I am looking at the very real possibility of being relocated to Dulles, where cost of a crashpad is double and half as convenient. I am not religious per say, but this must be God’s way of pushing me over the fence - do something beyond my control to force me into a decision.

I am just tired. Tired of little money for LOTs of time, very little growth potential, displacements, being treated unprofessionally, endless nights in hotels enduring 24 hour plus overnights in BFE, getting treated like a pile of crap in the training dept, etc. I think I’d rather make my own fate and have my rewards directly tied to my hard work and achievement and value vs. the other guy’s, rather than merely to the number of people in the line ahead of me.

No one can take the flying out of me. Its a disease. I will go buy a small airplane, fly for fun, and be a freelance instructor. I’ve always wanted to finish my glider rating and I went hang gliding one time and told myself I’d do that too. And the 3 remote control airplanes I have at my house need to be flown again too.

But, I’m just about done with this place and this industry altogether. I’ll stick it out a bit longer, but I am just about ready to pull the eject lever. There are greener pastures out there now that I have seen this industry with my own eyes.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 9:36 pm and is filed under Airline Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.