I am 15 and am looking ahead into the future to kind of get an idea of what exactly I should do (I know I’m still young but I want to get a head start). I want to be an airline pilot eventually but also want to have a family. How often are you home with your family? What is your schedule like now and when you first got the job? I have looked this up online and nothing has come up that was much help.
Thanks
Hello Sydney,
Nothing wrong with getting a head start. I have to call you out however on your last statement that you’ve looked it up online and found nothing. Have you read the other posts on this forum? There are many that talk about time with the family, and Chris, Eric and myself all post our schedules to give people an idea.
But since you ask the short answer is eventually. When you start out as a pilot you’ll have very low seniority and you’ll be flying when and where the airline needs you to fly (that means no, you won’t be home for Christmas). As you gain seniority with your airline you’ll gain greater control over your schedule and therefore your life and will eventually be able to be home if that’s what you chose. Cool?
Adam
Sydney,
I find that I have time, but it is a balance. If you think about a typical person working a 9-5 job, they come home tired five nights a week, then only have the weekends off, so eight days. I might be gone on the road more than average, but I have 17 days off this month. It did take me some time to get tho that point, I am pretty senior on the 737, but even in the beginning I had 12 days off per month.
Chris