Don't normally post here, but my 2p worth on an interesting topic...
As I come to the end of a 16-year RAF career (last 10 of which spent on ground jobs) I find myself looking back with a more critical eye on my initial pursuit of a flying career. What John_Smith has written resonates with me somewhat.
I flew the Chinook prior to being chopped for low-level nav deficiencies. Before transferring to a ground job I had a golden opportunity to leave the RAF and do a CPL and fall into exactly the kind of trap that John has illustrated. I had 500-odd hours and I wanted to keep flying no matter what the cost. It was the twin blockers of 1) a growing family/commitments and 2) uncertainty of the post 9/11 airline economy, which kept me from making the jump.
Nothing beats an exciting and variable flying job. I had the supreme honour of being paid to wazz around the length and breadth of the UK and Europe doing a mix of aeros, low-level, SAR, mountain ops, underslung loads and even boring procedural IF. It is not for everyone, but military flying, along with GA instructing and corporate bizjet flying, are the only jobs that can keep your interest level high, if the routine 'drudge' of airline flying turns out to be insufficient.
I for one am very glad I didn't invest an extortionate amount of money in a CPL/fATPL in order to line the pockets of O'Leary et al and become quickly disillusioned with flying. Sure, a ground job was hard to get used to at first, but it was the best of a bad deal for me.
After my kids have grown up and I have more available time/cash/pink chits, I intend to fly for fun by buying a share in a Pitts special or Sukhoi...but hey - that's just my take on things!
