Originally Posted by Skygirl
I agree, you guys work hard and are gone alot, and people who don't travel often, usually discount the toll that it can take on a person and their family. They think you all just roll into town, hit the bars, and party. They don't know the reality. I'm not trying to have a debate here over who works harder. I'm just saying that I work a lot, and many women do, not necessarily by choice. Just take a look at the cost of living in the Bay Area!
I don't have "flex-time" either. Basically, if I want to make or need money, then I work. I just had this conversation with my orthopedic surgeon, who told me that I went back to work too soon after my recent knee surgery. He nodded his head in agreement because he knows what it takes to live here, even if it goes against his best medical judgement to allow me to go back to work.
Truth is, many people work too hard and work too much to survive economically. I don't need to go into that here. I know that you all are intelligent enough to grasp that. Heck, all I was trying to say here was that there are probably more than a few professional women (here in the Bay Area) who work many hours that would appreciate a nice pilot guy that might understand working hard...
Jeeze, ya just try to be nice and it gets all mixed up....
I wasn't getting into a contest with you at all, just explaining what this job can be like sometimes. Sorry if it came off like that. Don't be the sensitive type (lol). I've tried to explain this stuff till I'm blue in the face to some of the women I've dated (even the smart ones) and they STILL don't get how in-flexible or abnormal the schedule can be.
As far as how hard we work, that's a bit of a joke. Overall, I actually work that much, on average it's a max of about 23 hours a week, of paid labor that is. By that, I mean not getting paid for showing up an hour prior to flight time (like 5:30am) and not getting paid, waiting outside the airport 45 minutes after we arrived for a van to the hotel where I'm only going to get 6 hours of sleep (maybe) before starting a 12 hour day.
The fact is, it takes 75-80 hours a week away from home to get paid for that 23 hours.
Like I said, not getting into a contest. Just laying out the facts. Facts that alot of people outside this industry can't seem to comprehend. So, for the guy that started this thread, this is the kind of crap you have to look foward to.
When you meet a girl and she asks what you do, just say this: "I work in aluminum tubing, it's kinda boring, what do YOOOUUUU do?"
BTW, how does a workaholic from the bay area find out about an aviation message board?