Dieseldude - I would agree with you that the 747 Classic is one of the last 'true aeroplanes' available to fly. I enjoyed the machine and preferred flying it to the 744. And I'm a big fan of three crew for long haul. But all told, a career should be a lifestyle thing. Personally, I hated long haul. I couldn't wait to get off it. As I got older, my circadian rythems got stronger and I was finding it hard to cope with the combination of acute and chronic fatigue. My father in law, a doctor said it was killing me. And he was probably correct as I felt so much better after one month of quitting. Plus the hassles of unserviceabilities, and the disruption to schedules and rosters made the job unbearable. (My last 747 job was flying freighters).
And as far as flying aeroplanes goes, I have been spoilt by 18 years as a military pilot which yielded more fun than is possible in airline flying. My last aircraft before the 747 was the VC10. Now there's a machine!