Originally Posted by
rickair7777
Common misconception on the part of pilots who have never worked in the white-collar world.
White-collar is actually pretty fun in your 20's. After that it gets harder, as work responsibilities pile up at the same time as life/family responsibilities. Also the typical office politics and need to be physically present from X to Y oclock M-F (and always available on the leash) is soul crushing at best, violently toxic at worst. That one CA that everyone bid avoids? You can be stuck in a cubicle in direct line of sight from his office for 50 hours/week. And he's the boss.
Soul-crushing is a good way to put it. For me, never being able to go to the lake or hiking in the mountains on my time off without coordinating with coworkers in case one of my accounts calls when I’m out of cell reception made me feel like I was never free. Miss a call on your time off and not get the issue addressed... be ready to face the boss in the morning. Cutting the grass? Be sure to look at your work phone when you get done in case you missed a call. (Basic manufacturing job). Something at the account happens at midnight? Or dinner? Stop what you’re doing to get on a teleconference or head back into the office. Those responsibilities came with a sub $60k salary, but good health benefits.
Lives weren’t in my hand, but if one of my accounts couldn’t support the assembly line and caused it to shut down, that cost $10-12k per minute to pay all the workers to stand around waiting for the next parts to arrive. Have fun explaining that one to the boss that your day off at the lake caused the supplier to have imperfect coordination, resulting in an extra $200k expense that couldve been avoided. I never had to because I was on top of it all, but it gets old fast carrying that ball and chain.
There are a lot of ‘cushy’ desk jobs that merely appear cushy at face value.