Let's compare "Pro" (professionnal pilots) and "Priv" (privates on light airplanes).
When you pass your IR...
- as a Pro you are seated in the right seat of a big plane, with an experienced guy on the left seat that you call "captain"
- as a Priv you are alone the day after your rating, and have to experience everything by yourself
When you encounter icing conditions...
- as a Pro, you airplane is well equipped to fight that ice, and powered enough to climb above these icing conditions
- as a Priv, you are probably not deiced, or poorly deiced (light to moderate icing, not severe), and that TKS is so expensive...
When you fly enroute...
- as a Pro your airplane climbs at high levels where the sun is always shining, ABOVE the bad weather, and you are given great direct routes
- as a Priv your airplane is limited to low levels (because engine, pressurization, non-RVSM...) and you are most of the time IN the bad weather, with icing, turbulence, poor vis... and those damned ATC at Paris Control make your travel longer with a big deviation around Paris !
When your autopilot fails...
- As a Pro you have probably two autopilots, or a copilot
- As a Priv you'll have to control the airplane + read the chart + talk to the ATC + manage the flight (greaaat in turbulences !)
When the ATC calls you...
- As a Pro, your copilot will answer while you are busy
- As a Priv, damn it's always at the bad moment, while you're busy turning outbound, intercepting, preparing your route in the GPS, levelling the plane...
What about your currency requirements...
- As a Pro, you do not care, you do not pay for approach fees, landing fees, airplane annual or whatever... you get paid for flying ! and checked out quite often.
- As a Priv, you try to find an airport where the fee will be low enough to let you enough money to pay for your coffee... Hard to train sometimes, expensive !
What about your documentation...
- As a Pro you are given everything by your ops : approach charts, GPS update, weight and balance... you just check dates & co to make sure it's alright
- As a Priv you pay for that horribly expensive Jeppesen update, you download it on your computer or skybone, upload it in your GPS in the airplane... **** you have two GPS, no discount... And those paper charts to classify each week, drives you mad
What about weather briefing...
- As a Pro : Captain, the ops gave it to me !
- As a Priv : do it yourself, where is the ISO 0° ? How is that front ? What is the forecast? What could be my alternate ?
What about your equipement...
- As a Pro, FMS, glasscockpits, numerous radios and avionics... better than disney channel
- As a Priv, maybe you have a G1000 or an Avidyne, or maybe you have a conventional directional (no HSI), and some good old fashioned avionics...
What about flying across the Alps:
- As a Pro : and so what ?
- As a Priv : where are my canulas ? damned the Oxygen bottle is empty... I'll have to refill.
Etc. etc. etc.....
So yes, flying IFR as a private is really HARDER than commercial, in my opinion, considering only the aeronautical aspect of the thing (the commercial part, handling passengers etc. is something else).
So you can be proud when flying IFR in a small Piper, Cessna or even Malibu, because managing the flight is not so easy.
Frog