Okay, someone asked to hear from some law enforcement types.
Been flying all of my life, flew the fixed wing stuff and was teaching to build up those preciouse hours. But saw the writing on the wall at the time. Never knowing when I would be home and always on call until I made the big leagues. And not having my degree finished kinda threw a wrench in the big leagues at the time. So, I became a law enforcement ground pounder and after working the streets made it to our helicopter division.
Now, tell me that this is not heaven. I have a helicopter assigned to me, in a hangar (no one else uses the hangar), close to home, and a very good observer partner. I go to work, call the brass (home base is 80 miles away) to tell them I am at work, preflight, fly around five hours a day, call the brass and tell them I am going home. I have a blast doing the law enforcement work, and if there is a search for someone missing in the mountains, I get the call. What a blast it is to search for someone, find him/her, and know that you just might have saved their life, or in fact did. I am responsible for 2,000 sq miles and deal with 100+ temps of the high desert, to the 9,000 foot mountains, to the beach. And of course winds usually in the desert of 20-40 kts most of the times.
The flying is challenging as I have to operate my helicopter at the max of its performance, and dealing with the turbulence in the mountains can really get ones heart beating fast.
I plotted my path and made it. Tell me if any fixed wing can do this. And I get paid fairly well. And not shot at too much
. Most of my ex-students and childhood friends that are airline pilots keep trying to ride along with me.
If you love flying, find out all the good and bad of both sides, make your decision and have fun. If you don't like it, get out of it. I watched my dad, a very well respected engineer for a leading aerospace industry company, and could not comprehend the 9-5 at a desk.