Hours
Earlier in this thread people challenged my view that the working hours in this job are becoming a joke.
Well, just to give you some insight I am on home standby today but this has been shortened from 7 hours to 4 and a half due to the fact that my duty hours were projected to exceed legal max by end next week (92.5 hours in a fortnight duty!!) against a legal max of 90. SO far this week I have spent the whole week on lates finishing around 10.30pm and starting around 2pm. This means I have not spent a single evening with my family, having a BBQ with a beer in my hand in 5-6 days - you know the kind of stuff that ordinary workers in banks, shops, offices etc take for granted as something they can do everynight!
I'm just pointing out that flying is of course more fun than being in an office all day BUT IT ISN'T MORE FUN THAN HAVING A BBQ AND A BEER WITH YOUR FAMILY!!
Just a reality check for those wannabes who only see the Raybans and the shiny jets - there's a downside to this job too and it's not one that really hits you until you've been doing it a while.
Right I'm off to cut the lawn, and take wife and Daughter out for a cycle before the standby starts!
PS WWW IS absolutely right that written and verbal communication is essential in this job - you won't command much respect with your peers on the flightdeck if you're illiterate!