being a pilot better with no kids?

Posted by Total-Photograph2825@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 12 comments

Hey everyone, I’m 19 and currently in college getting a business degree while also working through my flight training. I have my PPL, instrument rating, and commercial rating done, and I’m planning to become a CFI soon to build hours. If everything stays on track, I’d probably graduate around 21–21.5 and hopefully move into a regional airline FO position after that.

I’ve been thinking a lot about whether airline flying is actually the right long-term career for me or if I’m romanticizing it too much, so I wanted honest input from pilots.

The thing is… even the “bad” parts of the lifestyle don’t sound THAT bad to me. I genuinely enjoy flying itself. During training, even without AC in small planes, I still liked it. I like the views, the procedures/checklists, talking with instructors/other pilots, and I haven’t really felt burned out yet.

The airline lifestyle honestly sounds appealing to me even at its worst as in reserve at a regionl airline:

Working a few days, then having several days off
Exploring cities during longer layovers
Meeting new crews and talking with different people
Not being stuck in an office every day
Flying itself still seems fun to me, not just “cool”

I’m also a really social person, so one thing I’m wondering about is loneliness. I actually LIKE temporary friendships and group environments. In school/group projects, I usually get along with people quickly. Are crews generally social on layovers? Obviously I know not every crew becomes best friends, but is it common to go out with crews on longer layovers or spend time together?

I also don’t plan on having kids (pretty sure at least), though I do want marriage eventually. I’m wondering if there are pilots here without kids and whether that makes the lifestyle significantly easier or more enjoyable.

A few other things:

I don’t mind repetitive routes much. I’ve visited cities like NYC many times and still enjoy them.
I don’t drink coffee and rarely drink alcohol, so I’m curious how pilots manage fatigue long term besides caffeine.
I know the industry is unstable and nothing is guaranteed, which is partly why I’m finishing my business degree too.
I understand seniority controls a lot of quality of life.
I’m aware reserve can suck sometimes.

My rough goal/plan right now is:
CFI → regional FO → regional captain → hopefully a major airline eventually (ideally United someday). and plan to stay Fo bc senorioty

I’ve also wondered:

At what point did you personally realize aviation was the right career for you?
For people who stayed in aviation long term: what are the downsides younger people usually underestimate?
Is the lifestyle actually enjoyable if you genuinely like travel/social environments, or does everyone eventually get tired of it?

Would really appreciate honest answers, especially from people who’ve been at regionals or majors for a while.

[-]

rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

I’ve been thinking a lot about whether airline flying is actually the right long-term career for me or if I’m romanticizing it too much, so I wanted honest input from pilots.

The airline lifestyle honestly sounds appealing to me even at its worst as in reserve at a regionl airline:

Working a few days, then having several days off
Exploring cities during longer layovers
Meeting new crews and talking with different people
Not being stuck in an office every day
Flying itself still seems fun to me, not just “cool”

A few other things:

I don’t mind repetitive routes much. I’ve visited cities like NYC many times and still enjoy them.
I don’t drink coffee and rarely drink alcohol, so I’m curious how pilots manage fatigue long term besides caffeine.
I know the industry is unstable and nothing is guaranteed, which is partly why I’m finishing my business degree too.
I understand seniority controls a lot of quality of life.
I’m aware reserve can suck sometimes.

My rough goal/plan right now is:
CFI → regional FO → regional captain → hopefully a major airline eventually (ideally United someday). and plan to stay Fo bc senorioty

I’ve also wondered:

At what point did you personally realize aviation was the right career for you?
For people who stayed in aviation long term: what are the downsides younger people usually underestimate?
Is the lifestyle actually enjoyable if you genuinely like travel/social environments, or does everyone eventually get tired of it?

Would really appreciate honest answers, especially from people who’ve been at regionals or majors for a while.

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Junior_Ability7985@reddit

First of all, thank you for a coherant and well written post. I spent 2.5 years at a regional and am currently 2.5 years into life at what I hope is my forever major airline.

I’ve known since I was a little kid that I want to fly.
I have been in a long term relationship for the past 6 years and flying has not hindered us at all. We love taking advantage of our flight benefits.
Yes, this career is just as much fun as I thought and I would not trade it for the world. I love flying airplanes well. I am a systems and procedures nerd. I love the “work” aspect of my work. It’s obviously not for everybody and Reddit is probably the place where you hear from a disproportionate amount of people that are struggling with their career choice.
I am also very social and enjoy going out with the crew on layovers. It happened more often at the regional airlines, but I think it happens more often on the widebody fleets at my current airline too. Even if my captain doesn’t want to go out, I iust love exploring on my layover. The important thing is to have realistic expectations of the job, which it sounds like you do.
For the people that say 19 is too young to be thinking about these things… shame on you. It is never to early to be smart about the future. They’re just jealous and wish they were as smart as you when they were 19 years old. Now get off of Reddit and go make those dreams happen. I think you’ll love it.

RocknrollClown09@reddit

For the downsides

1) I was engineer before I was a pilot and that job was more repetitive than being a pilot. Your schedule changes every week

2) you manage fatigue by managing your sleep schedule and general health first, and augmenting with caffeine if you want. Lots of pilots don’t drink. If anything, it’s a career risk

3) very smart. The majority of pilots who’ve been doing this long term have been furloughed. Also, once you’re at a major, you’ll have enough spare time and money to pursue other things, so a lot moonlight with real estate, small businesses, etc. It’s a great backup plan

4) seniority is everything and it only changes when people retire or your company grows

5) reserve sucks in the regionals, but at UAL and Delta reserve can go senior because you can get paid pretty well to get a lot of time off.

1) always loved flying. If you don’t love flying the down turns and grind can be hard

2) the grind to get to a legacy can be brutal, and I bet it can feel even worse nowadays bc so many people start this path seeing influencers who went from 0 to legacy captain in like 4 years. That’s not normal. Just 5 years ago I was flying with regional lifers, who due to no fault of their own, never made it out of the regionals. Luck and timing.

Also, training isn’t as simple as just signing up with a wad of cash. Every ride is an expensive test and if you can’t perform, you’ll never get to the checkrides. There can be a lot of pressure and a lot of pilots downplay it.

3) Absolutely. If you enjoy outdoors, cities, food, hiking, snowboarding, surfing, whatever, you can do that on basically every layover, and every trip is different. One week I snowboard in SLC, the next I surf in Costa Rica. I’ll never get sick of it. I think the irony is that all the training, testing, and evaluation favors people who tend to be more reserved and conservative, but the lifestyle is kinda the opposite. Just learn how to lock it in at the appropriate time.

For having a family, I’ve flown with lots of pilots who have kids and a lot who don’t. Both are very happy. I was older when my wife and I had a kid, so I saw both sides, and it’s great. On the days I’m home, I’m completely home. I get more useful time at home as a pilot than I did as an engineer burning the candle at both ends.

Good luck, it’s a great career.

redditburner_5000@reddit

Yeah. Huge advantages in early career time building by being unattached with no obligations.

But that stopped being cool (for me, ymmv) around 28 or so.

...even at its worst as in reserve at a regionl airline.

Ha. That's not even close to "the worst."

At what point did you personally realize aviation was the right career for you?

About 4 years old.

For people who stayed in aviation long term: what are the downsides younger people usually underestimate?

I only did it professionally for about 9yrs. Your wants and goals will change from 19 to 29. You will be a different person (I hope). This means you need to grind away as early as you can to be in a good position by your mid to late 20s so your 30s can be more stable and support any major commitments you might make.

...also don’t plan on having kids (pretty sure at least)...

I said that too. I think most teenagers do. See above.

Is the lifestyle actually enjoyable if you genuinely like travel/social environments, or does everyone eventually get tired of it?

Hugely dependant on the specific people you're with on the trip and the type of flying you're doing. But 19 year old you probably wants to be more social than 29 year old you. And 39 year old you will probably aspire to be asleep by 8:30p.

CFI → regional FO → regional captain → hopefully a major

That's reasonable and attainable. The question is how long you think this will take, including your training. 5yrs? Not realistic. 10yrs? Maybe. 15yrs? Doable.

Count on that CFI job being tough to get. Lots of competition for a few positions right now, and alternatives to CFI are extremely competitive. Count on another job between CFI and regional FO, too

Consider locating a nearby traffic watch, banner tow, or aerial mapping company and offer to go wash planes and sweep hangars so you can have an in with those groups. Productive networks get jobs, and networks take years to make, not weeks or months. Start that right now. Seriously.

deer_god11@reddit

I feel like however you get your questions answered, by the time you actually find a spouse and have kids your opinions and goals may have changed so much it would render any advice you get here moot.

kd_butterballs@reddit

Bro almost everything is better without kids

NonVideBunt@reddit

You’re too young to be making this decision imo. As someone who’s older, it’s not a pilot or kids decision. The two are separate. I have young daughters and they make life so much more special than flying ever will. At the end of the day flying is a job and provides for my family. Would not having kids make it “easier” to be an airline pilot? Probably because anything that takes time and commitment with rob from something else, but life is a lot less whole without kids. My opinion only.

Like I said, way to young to even make this call, just focus on school and getting your ratings and reattack this idea later. You shouldn’t be getting married or having kids at 19 anyway so you have time to think it over.

StangViper88@reddit

Plans fall apart. Enjoy the ride. Try to use protection.

Prof_Slappopotamus@reddit

You're fine, man. It's only a bad life if you hate being away from home.

Also, you will drink coffee. Give it a few years. Alcohol is up to you, but please do it in moderation and don't push it. Start thinking about that now, because 21 is coming up and a DUI will kill your dream faster than anything else. Once you hit the airlines, no one will care if you drink as long as you're pleasant to be around.