The point has been made that it's easy to get a great schedule if there are no competing priorities.

Glad that works for a lot of people.

Doesn't work for everyone; even people who hustle.

Exactly. If you have no life outside of work, and don't like sleeping then yeah you'll usually find a couple good trips in SAP.

All this being said we're gonna be changing over to PBS here in an indeterminate amount of time and regardless of what anyone says on these forums, we have no idea what effect that'll have on our schedules and SAP.

Maybe PBS will be the thing we've all been waiting for, maybe it'll be another company move to get even more one sided language into the contract. Either way it's all just speculation.

I'm glad it's working for you, as everyone has their own interests/priorities. That just sounds kinda exhausting and unenjoyable though.

I’m conditioned to it. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I didn’t stay busy.

It's called being an adult. It is a job. When we all signed up for this, we knew that we would miss events at home. Make it home for the important ones like holidays and birthdays, and do the best you can on the rest.

People that don't mind working the schedules that are "tougher" usually have more days off and more money to spend on those days off.

My family would rather me have an extra 20 days home per year and have an extra $8,000+ laying around than being home every weekend. That is the difference between working 24 hour trips over the weekend versus picking up garbage 17 hour trips during the week.

Again, glad you're happy dealing with that. Having the option not to, while still making plenty of money, I personally don't elect to do that.

As to 'being an adult', that mostly comes down to cost-benefit of being able to take the extra time off to spend with people I actually care about, and not in some dingy hotel room. I personally don't give up money to enjoy life, my bank accounts are fine, and my retirement accounts are funded vigorously. But thanks for implying I can't manage myself :)

Not every day has the same value. How many days sitting at home alone is it worth versus one soccer tournament?

I think everyone’s desires depends on their own unique situations. Me personally, I prefer the highest credit trips possible to give me max days off. If that means flying the weekends then so be it. I’d say being willing to fly on a weekend here and there gives me 2-3 days off more per month. A few months ago I got lucky and had 21 days off. Even in a not so lucky month I can get 18-20. This month I picked up and only have 13 days off and it’s torture. I don’t think I’ll go to less than 15 for quite awhile now. I don’t know how the Piedmonsters do it. Even their senior people are only getting 11-12 off and not by choice.

New to looking into PSA and considering a switch from another regional. Is the flow legit, or are there a bunch of hoops to jump through and potential gotchas? Like do you have to pass the Hogan test/some other exam or sit down with a shrink? Or is it truly as advertised--pass go, collect 200 dollars, and life is good?

You must be a Captain in good standing for 2 years, that's pretty much it, plus wait the other 5 years for your number to come up.