Goaf,
I think you mised the point. It's not the flying that's a pain, it's all the BS from management and the random shift patterns that are tiring. That plus the long hours in an anti-social enviroment. I too started in air taxi's, air shows and crop spraying. Great fun, a wonderful learning ground, but the laws of financial survival took over and I moved to the aluminium tube brigade.
What really is a pi@%er is that the established airlines demand from their recruits:
1. high education, often university,
2. good social and man/team management skills,
3. ability to think clearly and absorb data from various sources, process it and make a correct decision in a milli second.
4. good hand/feet eye coordination and a good medical condition,
5. the ability to sleep on demand and perform to the highest standard on minimum sleep.
6. show good potential to move up into management, (be a yes man ),
7. to accept being treated like a 'naughty little jonny', when you should just shut up and do your job even when you can forsee it is all going to be a can of worms, i.e. do not use any of the above qualities,
8. amidst all this maintain a high morale, strong company loyalty, a high attitude of company mindiness, forget you've been shafted more times than you can remember, and promote the same attitude in all new recruits you meet.
Apart from that flying's a fine profession. In the private executive jet world I experienced great resepct from the passengers.They employed me and flew with me and trusted me to deliver them safely to their destination. They were kind, courtious & appreciative. A world apart from airline managment where the crew, and FTL's, are part of the machine and a very irritating limiting factor in maximising the profit there from.