Splannie...the poster you quote is a classic glass 1/2 empty view.
How you cope with this, or any, profession is a product of motivation, experience and an ability to view things realistically.
Many (it often seems most) young aspiring pilots these days seem to be interested in one thing only...the left seat of a big shiny jet. If they can't achieve that in record time they view aviation as a waste of their 'precious' time. Most young pilots these days view GA as an unavoidable nightmare rather than the school of life that it is.
When I was growing up aviation was ALL i thought about as far as career is concerned. There was and is nothing else I could even begin to comprehend doing for a living...and for fun too...I'm one of those airline pilots who also owns a light aircraft.
I did 10 years in GA (PNG) and had an absolute ball...mind you I accept that the GA of the 80s was a vastly different game than the sick GA of the present....both in Oz and PNG.
I always figured I'd end up flying jets eventually but was in no busta gut rush...I was having too much fun flying whatever I was flying at the time...from C185s and Helio Couriers through Islanders, C402/404s, Twin Otters, Banderante and a bunch of other types. I had in excess of 7000 hrs when I first sat in a jet and I LOVE flying jets...but I would not swap one minute of the first 7000+ hrs.
I fly with guys now who have never flown anything smaller than a Boeing 757 since they had 500 hrs TT...I don't envy them, far from it...I think they have missed out on something very worthwhile...some of them admit that too..not many though
It is a fact of life that very few of the people who begin learning to fly with the intention of making it a career end up in the left seat (or any seat) of a jet. It's not a lot different to other professions..how many Med students make heart surgeon, how many Law students end up doing anything more rewarding than proof reading contracts?
This is a fundamental flaw in the thinking of todays youth. They have a very skewed idea of the realities of life. They believe that what they see on TV is real...that if they become a doctor they can live the ER script..if they become a Lawyer it will be just like Ally Macbeal or The Practise.
When life fails to imitate art they get very depressed and angry...hence the negativity you see on PPrune towards any job that doesn't pay huge money to fly a jet (percieved as being easy)
They have NO concept of the work and dedication it takes to make it to the top of any profession....perhaps that's a good thing in some respects, why be anything other than 21 when you're 21, but a dose of reality must enter the picture some where.
To those posters who believe, as one poster up the page said, fly domestic and be home every night! Dream on!!!!
VB pilots are away from home as much as Long Haul as are NJS pilots...when I flew domestic jets in Oz I was away from home 18 nights a month, on my next block I will be away 21, last block was 14. Only difference is instead of min rest overnights in Perth, Melbourne or Sydney in between multi sector days I will be having 48hrs in Bangkok on the way to 48 hrs off in Frankfurt and another 36 hrs off in Bangkok on the way home. 48 hrs off in London, 96 hrs off in Dubai....etc. And I have mates in all those places to have a few beers with...went out and spent last friday at Duxford watching Spitfires fly. An ex PNG mate living just out of London has a C180 I last flew in PNG 15 years ago..when next I overnight in London we're going to take her out and run around southern UK...beats the **** outa 12hrs off in Melbourne.
Is long haul tiring...yup!
Are 8 hr sectors boring...yup! Except when you see the Austrian Alps on a clear day...or the snow covered Himalayas bathed in moonlight only 12000' or so below you...or like a week or so ago over India we saw, what we think was, the International Space station track right across our field of view. Saturday morning we departed London on a crystal clear day and tracked right across Kent on climb...passed between Manston and Dover climbing through 20000' and looked across the Channel to Calais just 24nm away...really makes you think about the young pilots who flew in the Battle of Britain. Sunday night flew Dubai - home (asia based) backside of the clock arriving about 0930 local..saw nothing of particular interest...had a snooze in my seat between India and Thailand...to cloudy to see much of Vietnam as we flew across...arrived home feeling a little tired, had a short snooze yeaterday afternoon and a solid 10 hrs last night...feel normal today.
6 monthly sim checks a drag?...well yeah except I actually enjoy sim...I enjoy learning and being a little better after the sim than before. I do acknowledge I must therefore be a little strange as some people hate sim recurrent and some fear sim recurrent. Most grownups accept sim recurrent rather than the quoted poster who believes it's a major impediment to a happy year.
Medicals? If your Doctor is a fanatic who can't accept you are getting older change Doctors!!!
So to those pilots who give up because it's all to hard blah blah...tough ****!!!
To those who along the way lose the drive a little (or through circumstances beyond their control) and settle for regionals and being home a lot but get paid less but who are still happy enough..more power to your arms.
To those who make it to a jet through hard work and a chunk of luck well you've made it to what most people believe is the top of your profession...enjoy but remember your job satisfaction is up to you not your employer.
Is the grass greener anywhere? I don't believe so...just shades of brown (management) and patches of green (flying)...you wanna be a plumber be a plumber..wanna be a sparky be a sparky...wanna be a pilot be a pilot, and if you end up being a successfull one consider yourself fortunate.
Chuck.