you arent crazy. I flew HEMS for 7 years. Army Helo's. got out flew FW Part 135/CFI for a couple of years, 9/11 hit, back to HEMS for 7 years, full time ARNG FW guy for 10 years. Did ACMI cargo in a 767 for a year, now at American so I have seen both sides of the equation.
FW, 121 flying is boring. It almost doesnt feel like flying. Its weird how much I miss hovering a helicopter. I would be at HEMS now if it wasnt for the fact the HEMS is not a stable career. Sure, I might have been able to stay at my hospital for 20+ years but I really doubt it. Bases closes all the time and unless you are at the mother base then it is always a crap shoot. I had 2 bases close on me in 7 years. Granted I still had a job but I went from a 15 min bicycle ride to a 90 minute car ride to the base. 12+ hour shift with 3 hrs of driving each day basically means I was not at home very long. HEMS is also known for personality conflicts and getting ridding of pilots for the stupidest stuff. I get along with most anyone but I still didnt like the atmosphere of HEMS where the medical folks get pilots fired at the drop of a hat. In HEMS you are going to be working at least half the weekends. This assumes your program can staff their program, if not you will be on the old 8 on, 4 off program until they hire someone. At one point I was on the work everyday program because we were down to 2 pilots. HEMS, at least in the midwest, is always short of pilots. That to me was a huge drawback. I wont even get started on the pay. We all know you dont make enough and the benefits are no where near a major airline.
How about airline life? The seniority progression/hiring is off the charts right now. This is a once in a lifetime chance to get on with a Major airline AND have awesome seniority progression and the BIG wave hasnt even arrived yet. I have only been at AA for about 18 months and I dont have to work weekends or nights if I dont want to. I can change my schedule as much as I need. It isnt just the pay that is already way better than HEMS, it is also the benefits. LTD, 16% 401K contribution, everything is way better. Does the commuting suck? Yes, especially compared to my 15 minute bicycle ride but there are numerous ways to minimize it. I try and work minimum days as possible and all in 1 or 2 work blocks. I only make my commute 1 or 2 times in a month. I am not trying to make max money like most guys, I am just trying to make more than HEMS which means I can get by with working as close to part time as possible. My kids are now teenagers and they dont need you around all the time. They dont even want you there everyday. When they are out of the house the airline gig will be even better because all my stress is trying to work around their events (which are many). At HEMS I wouldnt even have that option....I would miss all kinds of events. I was in HEMS when my kids were little and they didnt have soccer, track, basketball, dance, etc so working that HEMS schedule wasnt so bad. I couldnt even imagine it now, I would miss at least half the events (assuming I wasnt on the 8/4 schedule).
Hiring at the airlines is crazy, you might think your job stinks because you are at a regional/ACMI outfit and getting paid crap to be gone a lot. With all the hiring you will be called sooner rather than later. When one calls, they all call. I didnt have any job offers when I got out of the Army so I flew ACMI near my house. At the 6 months mark, I had interviews with almost all the big players within a 2 month time frame (except Delta and UPS). Point being, things change and dont judge the airline life solely by some regional or ACMI outfit. Also, the grass isnt always greener at HEMS, if anything it is greener because of all the BS over on that side.