JaxofMarlow...
I clearly touched a nerve there and apologies for that but there's no need to try and patronise me with regards to my age! I may be fairly young but have been working since I left school at 16. I'm a licensed engineer now and work 2 days followed by 2 nights on shift, then usually do a couple of days overtime and have been doing this for years. Many times I have travelled to carry out AOG repairs and worked all through the night on the back of a 12 hour shift so trust me I know what tired is!
I did mention in my first post that I wasn't trying to say that it's not a tiring job, however I will say again it's not unique to aviation and there are many other jobs out there that are more tiring and pay considerably less. None of the replies to my post have really answered my question either. Nothing has suggested to me that the job of a pilot is more tiring than the one I already have. Perhaps I'm used to it now as long shifts are all I know but I still stand by my original post.
Stiglet...
Finally a positive post! Trust me I am committed, I mainly asked the question out of interest and try and perhaps make some people realise the grass isn't always greener. I agree with everything you have said in your post and that's exactly how I look at it. Maybe I will be on here in ten years time complaining about fatigue, maybe not...one thing's for sure it can't be any more fatiguing than the job I have now, but I'd bet it's a lot more enjoyable!