Home life

I was curious about what the home life looks like for a pilot. I’m currently home every night and I have my first baby due in February so being home is important to me. How often as a pilot do you sleep away from home. Also would like some pros and cons about being a pilot please. I’m 26 and thinking about a career change.

James,

Take a look at the “schedules” section as it will give you a very good idea of what pilot schedules look like.

The short answer is that I am on the road about 12-15 nights per month and that will likely never change for me.

As to pros and cons, only you can decide that. I love my job, I make great money, have a lot of days off, a great office view, and a lot of freedom to do my job the way I like. Take a look at the “Flying the Line” section as it has a lot of information in it that you will find helpful.

Chris

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James,

Home life can vary greatly depending on the airline, the aircraft and of course your seniority. When you’re new your seniority will be low and you’ll have minimal control over your schedule and the least amount of days off. As your seniority grows you can pick the type of schedule, aircraft etc and your quality of life will improve. That said again the operation and airline have a factor as well. I fly for Hawaiian on the 717 which means I’m home every night. That’s rare for an airline as most airlines don’t have any operations that permit that.

Adam

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