Originally Posted by
SkyHigh
I can see the appeal and at one time dreamed of that myself. However having a family and full home life changes that completely. I don't see how anyone with small children could be comfortable with being gone all the time. If a firefighter has a problem at home he is only across town. When a pilots family has a crisis he is across the globe in the wrong time zone and usually does not find out about it until it is much too late to help. Besides that it takes two parents to run a fully functioning household.
One of the biggest points that I attempt to make is that increasingly one must choose between a healthy family life and an airline career. The price was too high for me.
SkyHigh
I understand what you say. Although, everyone's situation is different. My fiancee is a pilot too and we have discussed the family thing many times. We decided to stay living where we grew up and have awesome parents who are willing to help with kids in the future. We have watched our schedules and agree that we can have kids, work and have one of us be home pretty much all the time. We would still see eachother as much as we see eachother now. We would maybe need grandma 4 times a month. I have spoken with many 2 pilot couples that make it work and I believe I can too. If it becomes too much, then we will have a decision to make. Of course the kids will come first.
On another note, I grew up with only a mother and things turned out just fine but that's an entirely different discussion.