Originally Posted by
faarn
I posted this on the wannabes forum but not had any replies so thought it might be better placed here:
I am looking to transition from UK Military to commercial aviation and trying to weigh up many pros and cons of jumping to the civilian world. I am lucky that either FW or RW will cost about the same to achieve so this is not a factor in deciding. My biggest concern is family life. I will be 44 y.o. by the time I leave with 2 kids under 10 y.o. At present I am away a good 3-4 months of the year and that is fine because when I'm back I get almost all my weekends off and am often home late afternoon (I also get lots of leave to cover childcare during the holidays). This means I do get quality family time when I am in the UK.
Having read a few other threads they are pretty slating of work/family balance for FW pilots. They were, however, from quite a few years ago and so I'm not sure if anything has changed since EASA regs came into effect? One option I have seen pop up would be 75% contract. This would be ideal but as a junior F/O would this even be possible?
RW rosters seem better in that you are working a period of weeks on and then the same (ish) off so more likely to get guaranteed weekends regularly. The problem is jobs are not as plentiful and there would be greater risk in transiting. I do have an SH and SAR background (which should open up more RW opportunities).
Any feedback on work/family balance from those who are doing it and the likelihood of part-time jobs for starting out FW pilots would be appreciated.
What flight experience (hours breakdown) do you currently have?