Rykerbanta

Hey! Im 28 I have a wife and son and I never thought becoming a pilot was attainable. Parents pushed me through college been working ever since and want to get out of my career field started looking into becoming a private pilot and decided to look into career piloting more. The Southwest 225 program looks great for someone in my shoes who( if I’m gonna change careers I need to jump straight in and fast track). I’ve talked to a few pilots here and there ( regional/instructing etc) but no ones realy been able to answer my biggest question.

I completely understand and WANT to travel a lot I love traveling, and after doing some flying I love flying and the details that go into pre flight etc... but what is the quality of home life? When your a pilot with a family do you ever regret not being home for stuff? Do you feel like you have adequate time home with your families? Can anyone talk about their quality of time off life/family life??

AirBear

It'll vary a lot depending on who you work for. Most airlines you'll be away from home about half the month, from 2-4 days at a time. You'll miss a lot of birthdays, holidays, and events until you're senior enough to bid around those events. Many airlines allow you to drop/add trips so you might be able to do that while still junior.

Fractional private jet operators mostly do 8 on 6 off schedules, at least 1 offers 7 on 7 off.

Long haul widebody cargo pilots may go out for 17-18 days at a time.

Corporate pilots usually have to live within 90 minutes of where the plane is based and you may not have any "hard" days off although with the pilot shortage that's getting better. There can be nice perks, like taking your family with you on a trip to a nice location. But you're often on call basically 24/7.

Money wise be prepared for a few years of very low wages before you get the hours needed for an ATP rating. But at 28 your long term earning potential is enormous.

A lot of the pilots I've flown with make use of video chat with the kids while on the road so it's not as bad as it used to be in the pre-Internet days.

It's good to have a backup career in the event of a recession where the airlines start laying off pilots.

I'm sure guys here will add more info, but the main thing is be prepared for lower wages for a few years, and also factor in how much you'll spend getting all your ratings.

sourdough44

For right now I would keep your day job, continue research, and put yourself on the ‘fast track’ towards a private pilots license.

There are the handful of ways to go about it, local availability, free time, & $$$ are biggies. Family support helps too.

If not content at 28 it’s doable, but would take some effort.

DontLookDown

If you currently work 9-5 and your wife also works 9-5 you’ll need to be prepared to handle some backlash from her. She may start accusing you of abandoning her as she adjusts from never being alone to being alone a lot.

If one of you currently works shift work it’ll be a different story. I currently work shifts. I do a lot of 3-11 shifts while my wife works the typical 8-5 schedule. I’m optimistic that I’ll see her more once I get on with a regional.

It will largely come down to your individual personalities.

Rykerbanta

Thanks this was helpful in offering more perspective on other aspects of the job

Right now I work 9-5 my wife does hair out of our home her schedule is flexible. She’s the one who’s been egging me onto pursue something I want to do. My sons only one and my wife wants to homeschool him so she’s got it in her head if I had to travel a lot they could do some traveling too it’s a lot to think about I just want to make sure that people still feel like there’s a good quality home life with a family as a pilot I kind of figure if I do change careers any job I pick il gonna be at the bottom of the totem pole and work crappy shifts for a while but it’s not ready in the cards to stay in my current career forever.

DontLookDown

I think you’re in a good situation. Her being self employed will help out a lot.

Crappy shifts will consist of leaving for work on Friday and getting home Monday. If she could also make her schedule Friday-Monday you both could have Tues, Weds and Thurs off together and spend more quality time together than a lot of couples do, even when you’re junior man on the totem pole.

PotatoChip

Answers above in red.

Rama

You're time at home will be better, may have 12-18 days off a month.
That will vary of course by airline, seniority, and base.
Most office jobs weekends and holidays are your only days off.

Bahamasflyer

I'll never understand why so many in this industry somehow think that those who work a cubicle have it better when it comes to family time.

Maybe its just a classic "grass is greener" thing?

Unless you commute to reserve at a regional, I'm just not buying it.

Sure, you are physically away from home more than most office workers, but you also have A LOT more actual time off, even at 15 days a month.

Not to mention how much you can manipulate your schedule once you get just a bit of seniority by dropping, trading, swapping, etc. My friends in the 9-5 rut seem very envious of the schedule flex I have, even as a newbie to 121.

Sure, one is technically "off" when at home at 8 PM on a Mon night after work in most desk jobs, but in one's mind, are you really OFF when you are dreading having to wakeup at 6:30 AM and do it all over again?

Not over my dead body will I ever go back to working a M-F 8-5 desk job!