Commercial Pilot. "To be or not to be?"
Hi all,
This is my first time posting on a forum. Since I was a young teenager I wanted to be a pilot and in my early twenties I applied to become an RAF pilot.
Unfortunately I was unsuccessful and pursued a career in aerospace engineering where I still work as I was unable to fund my own pilot training due to the expense. For the past ten years I have always looked on in envy at others that have had this opportunity and wished that I could have made it.
However, I now have some savings and have recently passed selection with a training school and now find myself doubting whether it's the right career for me. I enjoy flying (have flown gliders) and am confident I will enjoy flight planning, pre-flight checks, take-off and landing, but have a doubt as to whether I will find the cruise phase boring? I'd like to know from any seasoned commercial pilots out there what exactly are the tasks to be performed during the cruise? Is it boring?
I have a wife and 5 month old daughter so it is a big decision for me to leave my current job (although I don't enjoy it, it does pay well but not as well as a pilot!) and train for 2 years not knowing for sure if I'll enjoy the job.
The only other option I see is to complete my training modularly, while I work. However, I have heard that airlines much prefer pilots to have trained on an integrated course, such as the one I will be doing. Plus, the fact that I'm 32 and the modular route will take me some time to complete, I feel that I may be too old after training for airlines to be interested in me.
What would you guys do in my position? Any advice or comments would be much appreciated.