I can't take issue with any of the previous posts, they all seem to have valid points made on both sides of the debate.
I've gone on longer than I'd expected to and now have a little over a year to go.
Whilst like any job, frustrations from time to time can overwhelm one, in essence I can say "I enjoy the job, I shall miss it when it's gone"
Have I avoided burn-out? I'd like to think so, but my colleagues might be a better judge.
If I could put my finger on three things which have made this job one I still relish, they would be:
1. I've worked for a good company for a long time. I've only suffered one bankruptcy in my career and was out of work for only 5 weeks. The company is good partly because we have a strong union peopled by keen, intelligent, fair-minded pilots. They've kept the managements excesses at bay.
2. Variety. Short-haul, long-haul, a mix of both, detachments, secondments, base changes, type changes, etc. They re-vitalise you.
3. I was lucky enough to marry the right woman who has coped with all the ups and downs, "the reversals of fortune" the frustrations from time to time, the rosters that didn't work for us and been beholden to the tyranny of a roster over which we've had little control. That stable family base is critically important I'd suggest.
My AME has made a study of burn-out and both lectures and writes on the subject, but for me the three points I've made above have been key. Oh, and when I found the delete button on my computer and learned to get rid of anything that came from the
PR dept, the blogs, Vlogs, general propaganda, weekly updates and the like, focused solely on being a professional, flying safely, efficiently and comfortably, my blood pressure dropped, my stress levels dropped and the roses smelled a good deal more lovely!