Originally Posted by
CFIliving
I'm in the same boat. One thing which keeps me wondering is that I want to be able to see my family as much as I can. Yes people say you get more "quality time" when you’re not flying on your days off etc. Well guess what, if everyone you know around you works during the day, and your kids are in school then really you’re not getting all that much “time with family”. At least working "regular" jobs gets you in your own bed every night which is great.
My dad has been driving trucks coast to coast for the past 9 years. He is usually gone for 5-6 days on a regular trip and back home for 3-4 days. He is home, but no one else is. So in reality all that family/ friends time is not so much family at all. But again, everyone's situation is different.
I enjoy being an engineer & CFII and debating if I should go fly for a regional (and personally I have never took work home with me as an engineer). Also have a friend who has asked me to fly for his company 150-200 hrs a year in combo with engineering work but that will start in around 6-12 month. Maybe try and look for something similar, depending on your priorities.
Truckers have it bad compared to most airline pilots.
I volunteer at my kids school. Time to myself on weekdays means I'm rested, exercised, and caught up on the various distractions of life when I go pick up my kids (by mid afternoon). So my quality time is better than most of my professional peers who get home later, and know they still need to get back on the laptop before they can go to bed. Anybody who is remotely in my compensation bracket works pretty hard for it.