Scroggs and Oxymoron I have to say are spot on here.
I joined 13 years ago at the age of 32 and got my command after nearly 8 years, but had a mental plan that 10-12 years was possible. At the time I was a senior F/O at another biggish airline and a year from a command there but was happy that I was joining a lifestyle airline and not chasing a quick buck/command.
Career planning within the airline industry is a notoriously fickle thing to nail down but ultimately you have to be able to reach the age of 60ish and look back on your career with some degree of satisfaction, and that you made more good decisions than bad. Do you want to look at your logbook and see 200 Hong Kongs or 2000 Malaga's spread over a 30-40 year career?
Over my time here the lifestyle has changed dramatically, some for the better and some for the worse. The days of 7 night Capetowns, 5 night Shanghai's, 5 night Delhi's and 4 night Antigua's seem like a distant memory now but I now have more time at home as we still remain a 750 hour airline thus becoming hours and not days limiting. Much is said about the short haul utopia of having every night at home but last month I had 17 nights in my own bed and cleared 72 hours over 4 trips which is fairly standard. My friends in the loco world often complain that being in your own bed each night is all well and good but getting up at 4.30-5.00am for 5 straight days largely cancels out these benefits especially in the dark winter months.
The downroute life here is, as alluded by previous posts very much a case of the more effort you put in, the more you get out. Over the last couple of months I have been skiing in LA, been for a bike ride in San Fran, been on a wine tour in Capetown, had a game of golf in Capetown, got so drunk in Tokyo that I actually sung some awful karaoke, and got some winter sun for a day in Dubai. Mix this all in with some meals out with terrific crew and all is well. The counter to this is some very quiet nights in New York/Boston/Washington where you can go a full 24 hours without seeing anyone. It is during these trips (1 or 2 a month on average) that you need to be ok in your own company. Personally I use this time to read a book, catch up on e-mails etc, which are all things which are difficult to do at home with a young family demanding undivided attention.
I could be a little controversial here and say that the main whingers are the ones for whom Virgin is their first airline. Very subjective I know, and in many cases very unfair, however in my time here I have noticed this to be the case on more than one occasion. Added to this are the small number of colleagues who are bordering on rudeness to the cabin crew in the cruise, and then wonder why they aren't dancing with them and downing flaming shots with them at 3am.
To all those joining this year (40 odd so i hear) I look forward to flying with you.
All the best