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Old 22nd Nov 2020, 17:00
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Bealzebub
 
Join Date: Nov 1999
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A lot of it is just luck but....

I would do it all (well most of it) again in a heartbeat! Flying has provided me with an excellent career and opportunities that I could never have dreamed of in any other life. It provided a great standard of living and let me bring up a family whilst providing them with excellent opportunities. I have worked for great employers and many excellent colleagues and friends. I’ve shared laughs with people all over the world, and when times were difficult, had a team to share the workload with. For over 40 years work has rarely felt like work. I’ve seen every corner of the world, which would be wonderful in Itself, but also been able to share beers and laughs with fantastic people in all of those corners.

On top of all that, it has been a privilege to also have the opportunity to encourage and develop other people coming into this career. I have seen so many people do really well as they advance their own careers. I have even had the opportunity to fly with my own children in that role. Even if I isolate the worst occurrences, it has been a privilege to be able to experience them. For over four decades I could say “we live in interesting times.”

Certainly in the last 20 years, major changes have marched over the horizon and its true to say that the career aspect has become much more difficult for a great many people. Remuneration, terms and conditions, and certainly the “glamour” has all become much more difficult and very elusive. The advent and domination of the “low cost” industry models have encouraged a standard where the expectations rarely live up to the reality. There have always been cycles within aviation, but rather like battery charging cycles, it does seem that the industry becomes weaker with each one. This current pandemic has obviously been a catastrophe for a great many people, but it will subside to reveal the next reality of the next cycle.

as I say, a lot of it is just luck!.....
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