The job will only take over your life if you let it.

I have a strict Work is work and Home is my life policy. You'll never find me wearing a bomber to the gym or my uniform to the grocery store, even on the way home. On layovers I do my own thing and don't let myself get sucked into going to the same places with the same people to eat the same food and talk about the same stuff we've just been talking about the last Xx hours.

I have aviation hobbies but I tell people no airline talk, which, when you lay down the law, tends to chase the My job is my only life people away, and exposes you to a whole different side of aviation when you're not presented as an "AIRLINE PILOT!!!!"

It also helps that I have interests outside of aviation so I'm exposed to a wide variety of people, and initially when I'm asked what I do I just tell people I'm a consulting engineer and travel a lot for work. I still take dance classes (Tap, right now. I'll get the time step down someday before I die.), hike a lot, and have met great people just hanging out at the local bookstore. (It helps that I'm a bit of a loner and don't need people around constantly.)


This is a dream job. You get exposed to so many different cultures, have so much time off and have so many opportunities, after a while you'll think nothing of finishing a trip and going to another city to see a concert or art exhibit instead of going home, and while you need to be careful as a woman (preach on, Saorise Roman), confident, strong men or women will be attracted to and not be afraid of you, and I know a lot of great marriages in the industry where the spouse is something wildly outside of aviation.