Thank you all for good comments!
I will probably try to stay in there for a while in order to stay current and active. In the best of worlds I would want to fly part-time (50-50) and share my time between my two jobs, but that seems to be out of the question for most employers. They want to own you fully! Why are they so inflexible? It would surely make for a happier pilots work force in many cases.
Indeed, I like flying (would not go so far as to say that I love flying). In my earlier years, I too had the vision of being a well paid, highly admired and respected professional when I considered the pilots profession. Of those I think it is only the latter that still holds true. As one said here, pilots nowadays seem to be treated as commodities and can be replaced any day. I'm a realist and so don't fool myself. It's fairly obvious that employers don't have to bother about pilots working conditions too much since there is a never ending queue of prospective buyers (yes, buyers!) for the "luxury" of working as a pilot. It's all true because of the law of demand and supply. Nothing to wonder about.
I'm used to having a creative work where I solve problems daily whereas flying is a non-creative job where you perform an operational task very much controlled by procedures and regulations. Maybe I already answered my own question: I don't love flying but I like flying and I want to fly, always did, just not at any price!
Here's my own list of pros and cons based on my experience so far:
Pros:
* the satisfaction of a work well done by the end of the day
* you can forget all about work when you check out for the day (i.e. don't have to take work home)
* you work less hours than in an ordinary office job (many off-duty hours spent in hotel rooms though)
* it beats sitting in front of a computer all day
* you get to see the sun a lot
* you have very nice colleagues and workmates
Cons:
* too many nights away from home!!! This is the worst part!
* lousy pay, really, at least first five years or so!
* tedious and repetitive at times (could be good too depending on your mood of the day)
* stressful when you're at work (true of course for most other jobs too)
I like being a pilot, but I'm looking for the good balance between work and private life. Being an instructor at a local flying school is not really what I'm looking for. It was always being an airline pilot flying paying passengers. Perhaps a job with a bizjet operator or charter/taxi operator could be the answer. Flying night cargo/mail would also be ok. I'm pretty open to whatever opportunities that I could find as long as it is real commercial flying. I'll definitely try to hang in there! It's just a pitty if the typerating I payed for turns out to be a mistake...
Take care out there! :-D
guntop88