Someone mentioned that "if I was having fun at my flying jobs in Alaska then why didn't I stay there"?

I have had a lot of fun jobs in aviation however the lifestyle that comes with most of the funner jobs is unsustainable. Once I got my flight time I moved on to the next rung on the ladder. My goals were finite and they did not include living in a shack in the middle of nowhere Alaska for the rest of my life. It was fun but I got out of there as fast as I could. The guys who I know who stayed at those jobs are all single and without an estate. It is too painful to ask but I am sure that they all wish they would have made better choices when they were younger.

In college our professors were ex-airline guys. None of them spoke fondly about their years as an airline pilot. They always liked to talk about their glory days in the military or jobs they had prior to reaching the airlines. One profession in particular use to say that "getting there wasn't half the fun it was all the fun". In other words, don't expect to enjoy your time as an airline pilot. It is a job.

I did not expect to have fun at the airlines. I expected to get a job that respected me and my contribution to the company by paying a better wage then I could have gotten by delivering mail and provide a better lifestyle then if I hadn't gone through the effort. I did not want to get stuck at one of the lower rung "fun" jobs. This thread is in reference to the movie "The Wrestler". He got hung up in having fun and realised too late that he blew the best parts of his life. The same fate awaits those who don't move on when it is time.

Invest into your future. Pick a career that offers you some stability and market value when you are older. Your chosen profession should also permit you to have access to a normal life. What is the point of all this if you can not save money, buy real estate and hopefully raise a family if that is what you want? Aviation use to be able to commonly provide those things but, I don't see that as an reachable goal anymore for most.

Skyhigh