if you're looking at the airplanes with starry eyes, It would probably take someone an awful lot to talk a person out of flying. If you could ride in the jumpseat on a 4 day trip, it probably wouldn't convey the same feeling as being at the company for 5 years and fighting management for your pay, for your Christmas bonus, your days off, and your QOL.

You're quite a far way from being in the right seat of a regional aircraft dan, but if you work hard and persevere, I'd have faith that you'll make it to that seat. On the contrary, don't get to the airlines expecting a schedule like the one you saw from your friend.

As Bryris mentioned, my company has a max of 16 days off this month. That's for an individual who has close to 20 years of experience here, probably more on the captain end. NONE of the trips are day trips, you WILL NOT be in your own bed every night and flying out the next morning, with three or four day weekends. To an individual who's lucky enough to hold a schedule like that, they're typically getting the best of both worlds, home every night, see the family every night, fly airplanes during the day, and have more days off than the average joe will ever know. The downer, you're still making peanuts, but at least the QOL (time away, time off) is pretty good.

This would be the rub. Living in base is the only thing that makes that schedule work. If you lived in Denver, or Seattle, etc, you'll find yourself commuting to work. If your flight departs at 8am, and there's not a 6am flight that will get you to YOUR gate close to 7:15 (typical report for duty time) then you'll be coming in the night before. Luckily for that schedule, it looked pretty commutable on the way out, but, with winter schedules and not summer schedules, often late night flights get reduced and moved up. If the last flight to your home leaves at 6pm, and you get in at 5pm, better hope you didn't have any maintenance delays or you might be sleeping in the crew room or the crash pad for the evening.

When you look at a schedule like that, you end up commuting in the night before, leaving out the day after, which will typically take up half your day on either side of the equation, reducing that 15 days off to around 11 or so days at home, which can be a real drag on your lifestyle, especially if you're not off on the weekends when the rest of the world is off.

I will give you one of the joys i loved about my flying job. GOLF. there are two cheap city owned golf courses close to the airport. I could pack my overnight bag, throw the clubs in the car, meet up with a couple of my buddies (also pilots) on a monday, tuesday, wednsday, thursday, or friday (tried to avoid the weekends) while sitting home reserve. I wouldn't be getting paid anything of course, but, in a pair of uniform pants, and polo, i could squeeze 9 holes in, and even if called for duty, still be able to burn out, change shirts and show up to the airport within the 1.5hr call out time. That was probably the biggest bang for the buck with my flying job...Now, i'll be playing on the weekends...when everyone else is also... i hate busy courses.