Swings and Roundabouts
I do not think one can be simplistic on this subject quite so easily, vertex. There are good and bad aspects on both sides of the sched/charter fence. There are plenty of both types of companies that work their crews right up to legal limits, pay poorly and have unstable rosters, not to mention having a shaky future and dismal financial results.
The size of an airline is not always indicative of job-security or lifestyle quality, either. There were quite a few carriers that went down (or needed a State handout) in the wake of 9/11 that had been around for decades.
Assuming you are fortunate enough to be in a well-organised and remunerated airline, a lot depends on your tastes. A lot of folks, myself included, enjoy the wide variety of flying available annually from charter flying, whilst others prefer the more regular aspects of scheduled carriers. Many of the low-cost airlines also have an increasingly wide variety of destinations to fly to.
The ultimate factor to consider is the reward package and quality of life (QOL) and one has to look carefully at the options available. There is also that elusive thing called luck! Your choice during depressed times may be very limited, while in boom periods the world can be your oyster (or as PPRuNe Pop might say, "your Auster!").
I have spent the past 15 years with a major British charter airline which I was fortunate enough to join during a period of much choice. Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed it whilst having time for my home life, hobbies and interests. Like everyone else, we have had our spats with the management and, like every other job I can think of, the good times and bad times have had a cyclic (or perhaps "oval") trend. Sometimes I am a paradigm of peace and bonhomie and sometimes I get as mad as hell. There are invariably issues to be resolved, some small some great, but none yet to make me want to get up and leave.
I also know that some of my colleagues have a different perspective but we have traditionally had a very low turnover of pilots leaving before retirement, so it clearly can't have been all bad. We have generally had a good BALPA representation and in recent times a number of QOL items have been introduced which have given us one of the best roster stabilities in the industry as well as having considerable control over when our free time occurs on the roster. As with many other operators, some work rosters are quite pleasant and some are quite awful. Over a longish cycle of time the coin seems to fall about 50/50.
Unlike some of the above PPRuNers, my hours have always been fairly steady throughout the year with, surprisingly, Feb & Mar often producing the highest score. I am well aware that certain of my colleagues at other bases would not find this to be so in their cases. Such are the vagaries of all multi-base companies, outside the USA. Apart from a significant downturn in longhaul recently, which is about to reverse, we rode out the post-9/11 period with no pilot lay-offs (but no recruitment) a healthy profit and even a meagre pay rise.
I have flown a pleasant mixture of short and long haul and have been to many interesting places over the years. On average I have taken Madam Syn along on one trip per year, with some good down-time in places like Oz, USA, India and the Carribbean. My determined choice of base and, as ever, Lady Luck, have of course played a part in all this.
I have many friends across the world of aviation, of whom some have a similar view of their company to mine and some have been as miserable as sin. There are none that I would wish to swap with and, if I were back in the mid-80s, I would not want to change my decision to join this one.
So whether you are a Wannabee or just "Curious of Grub Street", vertex, I hope this adds a useful perspective.