Does commercial flying become mundane?
 

I feel this question is really redundant, but as a potential career I have been seriously considering I was curious as to what actual pilots have to say on this matter.

Depends...If you live to fly Airplanes, 121 will frustrate you to no end. I need my fix outside of the Airlines. Any chance I get. But it can still be a little exciting, however...just stay away from the East coast flying and come join the party in the mountains and on the left coast!

Yes.

It is a job, and as a job it isn't bad. Don't think that flying 121 is fun everyday, it is a far cry from flying a Cub through the mountains.

That goes for non-aviation as well!

Yeah, it gets boring. 121 flying is so formulaic that a lot of the excitement of flying is lost. Plus after 200-300 hours in the airplane you have a good enough feel of how the aircraft and operation operate that each day isn't a challenge anymore.

But, you have to find your own reasons to do it. For me I don't get my kicks flying the airplane much, though there are times it can be fun and challenging. I personally enjoy seeing new cities, bar hopping with the crew on a (long!) overnight, and having the freedom to travel wherever I want for free.

The flying does...yes BUT!!!!! this IS the life!!!!!!!!! 20 hr overnights ROCK!! The crew gets together at Chili's and 2 for's!! Come on dude this is a great profession!! Stop shopping around and make the jump!!! PM me if u have to.

I don't find the flying mundane. I do find that the "politics", industry volatility, and commuting tend to wear me down a bit though.

What is your current profession?

great question. i am just curious, though, how old are you? i personally can't imagine someone any older than about 22 asking that question, nor someone who has ever had a job more than a few months. and i'm not saying this to insult you. it's definitely a great question. i personally have had many careers and even more jobs. everything gets mundane. even porn stars get bored at work. so it's definitely true that being an airline pilot gets mundane, especially all of the stuff you deal with when you're not actually in the cockpit flying the plane. but personally, i love to fly. flying is all i ever wanted to do. and no matter how mundane it gets, there's nothing better (in my opinion) than looking out the window when i'm at work, seeing a sunrise or a sunset, or looking down on the mountains or the coast or a river or some bright green fields after a late spring rain. i still sit there and say to myself that i can't believe i get paid to do this. so mundane? sure. more than any other job in existence? not at all.

I absolutely agree!!!!

I just came off a four day trip. I have four days off and I fly Sat night. (high speed) I'm gonna miss the SAAAB 'till then.

I'm not sure I'd say mundane... Sometimes fighting with scheduling gets old, and 16 hour duty days suck. But breaking out of that cloud deck into the sunset never gets old. (Sometimes, it even makes you put down your newspaper)...

U go TBucket!!! I wish my cellphone camera took better pix!!

I am a student at the University of Minnesota. I was thinking either going to a local flight school if I can find one and get a four year degree at Minnesota or transfer to UND and double major there.

I have always been interested in flying since I can remember and still am to this day. Even reading about the more pessimistic sides of career flying I am still interested. Obviously flying will get mundane at some point, which is why I acknowledged it was a seemingly pointless question, but I figured I would ask the people who have been down the road long enough.

Incus -

I would have to say NO - flying does not get boring. I remember right out of college I visited my mom at work in the OK state capitol building and in her office there were these men and women sitting around in ties and twittling pencils around and around and looking bored. I asked her who they were and she said they were a bunch of accountants there to audit the state social security. If I ever think that flying gets boring I just remember that office scene and thank my lucky stars that I continued with my dream of flying.

USMCFLYR

Spot on man! That's my personal favorite. You're on the ground, its 002 OVC, .75 mi and -RA. You tredging in the muck, but at only 500 AGL you come popping out of that layer into the beautiful clear blue sky. Even better when the sun is just rising. It's the better side of mother nature, things that most people NEVER get to experience.

The operation is constantly changing. The factors are different EVERY DAY. One day thunderstorms and MX delays, the next SNOW and slippery runways with crosswinds, and the next absolute peace and serenity from the clear blue skies and calm winds. Somedays you get more than one. And that's just the WX. I LOVE IT! Bottom line, you can't do it for the money. You have to do it because you LOVE to FLY, and you LOVE to work with other people.

If you're truly interested, then do it now. Get a degree unrelated to aviation. Something that will give you the option to pursue a different career if you find out it's not for you, or to get you through a furlough. You're better off pursuing now and finding out early if you like it or not.
Otherwise, you may spend the rest of your life wondering how it could have been if you would have.

I deal with a lot of whining and complaining in this job(Half the time it's me!:D), but I just wouldn't trade it for anything.

The flying is what you make it. If you put the auto pilot on at 600 feet and turn it off at 200 feet then yes it may get a little mundane. But turn the damn thing off every once and a while. And no I'm not talking about flying the flight director up to FL360, I'm talking about looking outside the plane and handflying the jet to the pavement.

Yeah...I get a kick out of swinging the yoke and looking outside, watching the plane do what I make it - without slaving away at the PFD. Remember, it's an Airplane first...

And I'm torn as to which I prefer - departures or arrivals. The arrivals are great because so much is going on, and to grease on the landing, well 'nuff said! But on takeoff, everything clicking, it's smooth as silk, and you're just sailing through the air...and since you're clean, the plane flies on your fingertips.

This is really really good advice for so many reasons. First of all, you never know when you'll lose your medical or you'll get furloughed. You also are going to be spending your life with pilots so the fact that you're a pilot isn't interesting. So many guys who have gone directly from the aviation degree to the airlines are a little boring because they don't really have much to talk about outside of airplanes because it's all they know. Broaden your horizons -- you're young and you've got plenty of time to get into the industry.

It sure does right up untill you get a master warning and a few red messages on the EICAS.

After 12,500 hours, I still love it. Could you imagine doing eight hours a day in a cubicle? Not me. I love flying- that's why I do it.

And besides, it's the only thing I'm good at!! :D

Wow. Glad to see you've got it all figured out already. :rolleyes:

yea that and also drinking alot right up to the 12hrs

My advice is to get a degree where you are and go to a local FBO to get your ratings. Airlines don't care what you have a degree in or where you got your ratings. You will also save a ton of money.

Yes it can get mundane but compared to a lot of other jobs it's great. I did the cubicle life for two and half years and can easily say that a really bad day flying 121 is better than a good day in a cubicle. I wouldn't trade if for the world.

Sure do.

(You all know what I mean. Don't be a troll.)

No way! I left that silly rule when I came to SkyWest...8 hours baby, yeah! :D

NEGATIVE! My tie is off as soon as the flight deck door closes, no way I'd make it in a cubicle!:D

Does flying get boring? You bet it does. I don't even fly for the airlines. I currently am a survey pilot. What's that? Try flying +/- 50 feet vertically and +/- 60 feet horizontally at 230 feet AGL over varying terrain. And when you reach the end of the survey block, you pull up to 500 feet AGL and make a 60 degree bank 'procedure turn' to get on the next line. Doesn't sound boring, but after doing it every day for a month it does get boring. What I'm saying is that every job gets boring, no matter how involving or exciting it may be. Flying does have lots of little moments that make it worth it. Like climbing out on top of a cloud deck or shooting an approach to minimums. So pick a job that is fun. But realize that any job can be boring. In an airplane, you can talk to the other pilot during cruise and not get fired for sitting and yakking while getting paid. Try that with a 8-5 suit job. Just make sure its a job that works well with when you don't work. How's the pay? (for buying toys and vacations) How easy is it to take time off? Are they flexible with schedules? What are the employees and management like? The answers to these questions will have a major impact on how well you like the job.

Not a troll. Do you honestly think you've got any airplane "figured out" in 200-300 hours?? Assuming you swap legs, that's 100-150 hours. Good for you, Chuck Y.

To the original poster: attitude is such a huge part of life. I flew with a 24,000 hr capt last month. You'd never know it; he still had a great enthusiasm for the job and it rubs off on everyone. And we have all flown with miserable, jaded, cynical jerks who are only happy when you are unhappy.

After about 6 months it's just a job, becomes routine, and indeed extremely boring. Everything is very rote, rehearsed, and repetitive. It's a cubical with a changing view. We are corporate drones, just like all the other office sheep. We like to think we are different, but really it's not all that dissimilar.

Well, go back to your cubicle then. It's obviously not for you.:rolleyes:

And management sits there and says "I can't believe we pay them so little and they still do this!"

I know what you mean though.

It's amusing that critics of this profession are often told to "get out", while those who come in starry-eyed and excited to do the job are often degraded and accused of having "SJS".

What's your point? If he/she thinks it's so bad, then he/she can leave. They're clearly so miserable to the point where they talk it down, it's time to move on.

I'm simply finding humor in how incredibly bipolar the issue is around here.

Some days it is a job, other days it isn't. Like many said it is what you make of it.

For me, most days are fun. Other days not so much. I am still getting used to the being a CA, so that continues to make it exciting.

Biggest factor for me: if I'm tired. If I'm well rested, I am enjoying myself all leg, every leg. If I'm tired, then each leg is a battle, and I can't wait to get to the hotel/home/sit to catch a nap.

Overall, I love the job, and would want to do any thing else...well except work a little less and get paid a little more, but in time that will come.

I tend to enjoy the short hops more. They keep you busy, flying the departure, checklists, etc., then having to start getting ready for the arrival, making in range calls, setting up for the approach, checking ATIS, etc. Not so much time to get bored. I don't know how the long haul guys do it. A 2 hour leg starts to drag on and on, I can't imagine a 10 + hour international flight.

I like dodging thunderstorms (staying away at a safe distance of course). Flying in the clouds and being eye level with the weather gives you such a different perspective. From down on the ground, clouds and such all look pretty one dimensional to me. But flying around up in them brings them to life. And passing a big cell at night and watching the amazing light shows is awesome.

Yeah, it can get boring like any other job, but hands down, we have the office with the best view. Ain't no multi-billionaire corner office executive that can match it.

the long legs are boring, i prefer the short 30-40 min hops we often do out of pdx. i'm still enjoying it though. don't want to do anything else. dodging clouds or aiming to skim the tops is fun.

That's a tough call. I've been experiementing with 900 flying for a few months...the long legs are nice in that you fly 1-2, or maybe 3 legs per day and have a lot more energy to work out and go out at the end of the day.

The shorter legs are fun in that you are flying into smaller fields and have more discretion as to how you do business...but 4-6 legs will suck the life out of you. I've found that most of the hard work is done on the ground...multiple turns, especially with swaps, is a lot more work than fewer turns, even if block time is equal.