At some point the shine wears off
I think we all came into this industry with stars in our eyes and endless optimism. But eventually reality grinds that down to more a more realistic version of life.
I think the advice of some the other posters is very important. No matter what industry you are in you’ll find d***heads. No matter what industry you’re in, some companies will try and rip you off (wages). No matter what industry you’re in, GFC/COVID/Ansett style collapse will ruin your “expected” career path. No matter what industry you’re in you’ll find companies that try and cut corners.
So if you’re trying to avoid those things and think it’s just an aviation problem, I’m sorry but it’s everywhere. The grass is not greener on the other side.
I’ve also gone through periods were I wanted to escape:
- CPL and 200 hours, not enough for a job. Took me about 18 months to get a start and only because of a contact in the industry.
- trying to pay off my training loan and thinking how many more years it would take me on a rubbish GA wage. If I could have sold my licence to pay it off I would!!
- watching QF stop hiring in 2008 and then waiting until 2017 for applications to open again. When I started out, QF was the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” to keep me pushing forward. So having zero chance of getting in was a tough pill to swallow. Naive I know.... 😂
- having a good regional gig (LHS/training) and then having the company go bust. Then being forced to move sideways into another regional gig at a company I never wanted to work for. Considering every move I’d made so far was progression, this was frustrating.
- now being overseas and watching the chance of command evaporate due to the COVID downturn. Now means returning to Aus when hiring commences and probably joining JQ/etc 5+ years behind mates in the seniority list.
I look back at all these (minor compared to some) issues and I’m more than happy I stuck around. I wouldn’t change it for anything. But I do look to the future with the expectation I’m going to need something on the side to keep me happy and challenged, because I’m finding with more experience a lot of the challenges are now easy to deal with.
At the end of the day, this industry goes up and down about every 10 years. You’ll also have your health to manage (keeping a class 1). But it can also be a lot of fun. Flying all over Australia (or the world) is definitely an option. Having staff travel to use for family holidays is a game changer, we’ve been to dozens of places that we would never have otherwise been with kids. The pay is reasonable once you make it to regional LHS or jet f/o.
I’d suggest finding something else to take your mind off the things you don’t like about your current job. Family, renovating a house, plan a bucket list holiday, taking up a sport, etc. We all need “distractions” to get us through the tough times at whatever job we end up in.
Good luck.