There are pockets
Ethan,
There are small pockets and hidden places where you could luck into a position that will allow you to have a lot of time at home with the family. However if you have huge career aspirations and dream of flying the heavy metal then your options and chances slim down a whole lot.
Even I have had some good jobs that kept me at home most of the time, but things change. All it takes is a slight change to the scheduling policy or perhaps a new manager and your cushy home job is gone. The most successful pilots never shy away from the plumb jobs. They jump at the chance to fly a 747-400 even if it means being in Hong Kong for six months of training while their families spend another Xmas without Dad. Successful pilots don't think twice about dragging their families across the country chasing the next big score. Eventually they leave the family to settle in some strange town far from home while they commute all over the country. Days at home shrink from 10 a month down to 6 or 4.
I think that each of us needs to dig deep and ask where our priorities lie. If you truly intend to put your family first then you had better trim down your career expectations. In the end you could wind up working as a dispatcher or as a ground school instructor. If that doesnt appeal to you then perhaps you should stay single or marry a FA. No matter how you slice it even a best case airline scenario has you being gone for over half of your life. Those are the years when your children are growing and the best part of your life is going on. It is no fun to be sitting in a hotel room listening to your babies first birthday song over the phone. At 60 you can enjoy retiring to an empty house and realize that all your friends and family have long ago moved on. Pilot life can be really ruff on someone who truly cares about those at home.
I am a little sour because I care about my family. I didn't like being away so much. My career was spent studying my seniors and learned from their experiences and from my own. I have enjoyed some good times but they rarely last. Some pilots are so taken by the sirens song that they don't even realize what they are loosing until it is long gone.
SKyHigh