Project what you'd be doing at 35 yrs old at each airline. 40, 45, 50, 50, 55, 60.

It's a 34 yr forecast. Not a short term look

Spoke with a UAL guy at the airport bus stop the other day. 3rd year pay so 2+ yrs LOS. 27 yr USN P-3 community guy. 757/767 FO out of KIAD. Did 6 months 737 and jumped on the 757/767. "I'm loving it. I'm not sure I'm ever going back to domestic." Has his bid in for the 777...to sit reserve and hopefully not get called to go to work....but when you do get called it's on a 777, with F/C meals, and a bunk, to Europe. "I can nap anywhere, anytime."

Military w/b? How many hours are you wearing headsets? Did they finally buy SELCAL for the HF's? Airline w/b flying is vastly different (guys flying both statements).

Much fewer pushbacks (ground ops pre departure/pushback are 90% of the B.S.) but you have more support with each departure. Every plane has 2-3 mechanics jump on it at arrival time. N/b vs w/b? "It's a completely different airline." Most guys like it, a lot love it, and maybe 10% don't care for it. Buddy kept flying n/b domestic. I kept pushing him to bid w/b. After 12 yrs as a n/b Captain he bid w/b international. His opinion? "If I'd known it was this good I would have done it years ago."

If you're going to get stuck in one job,in one aircraft, the Airbus is a better place to get stuck. Yeah it's got a degree of weirdness and 'WTF' that you have to get used to but it's more comfortable which IMO is the tie breaker - 737 = better airplane, Airbus = better job.