So I am currently about to get out of the military I’ve been away from home for a long time and am very interested in flying. However the more research I do the more it seems like I’m never going to be home and I miss the simple things. (family dinners, getting drinks with friends, motorcycle charity runs, weekend trips) I’m also purchasing a restaurant for my wife and I plan on helping her run it with my free time. Is aviation not a career I should pursue based on the information I just said?
Jacob,
Being an airline pilot involves traveling all over the world and spending many nights per month on the road. If desiring to be home every night is something that is important to you, this might not be the job for you. I would recommend looking at our schedules in the schedules section and see if it is something that might fit into your lifestyle.
I will say that I do always have 12-14 days off per month that do allow me a lot of free time while I am at home.
Chris
Are you actually able to be home those 14 days or are you in a hotel. What other aviation careers allow you to stay local? Line pulling parachute pilot what others are there.
Jacob,
I actually sold my restaurant because it was impossible to do both. While eventually you’ll have a lot of down time at the beginning with low seniority you can expect to be away from home a fair amount of time. Airline pilot is not a part-time job.
There aren’t many flying jobs that will keep you close. You could always work at the airport as a Gate Agent or ramper.
Adam
Adam
If a pilot lives in base and does not commute, they will be home those nights. Most pilot jobs involve being on the road, those that don’t usually do not pay that well.
Hey Chris, could you expand on what you mean by pilot jobs that don’t involve being on the road don’t pay well?
Jack,
Think about it. If you’re going to be flying “locally” you don’t need a Gulfstream, Boeing or Airbus. In fact you don’t even need a jet. If you’re not flying a jet, specifically a large jet, you’re not getting paid well.
Adam
“Pay well” is relative. I think Chris is comparing local flying job salaries against major airline pilot salaries. If so, all he’s saying is that a local cargo pilot, for example, will never reach the same pay as a major airline pilot. However, I do have a friend that flies Caravans for a local cargo company and he earned $80k in his first year. To him, that job “pays well” enough for him to have the lifestyle he wants.
Tory
Adam and Tory,
Ok, that explanation makes sense. For some reason I thought you meant pilots who fly for regionals/majors who start and end their day at the same base don’t make as much as their peers who have multi-day trips to other cities.
Hi I’m a perspective pilot who is planning on having a wife and kids. Is it possible (especially with seniority) to bid for more days with less flying in them so that I could return home most nights or am I only allowed to bid for 4 day trips where I need to stay in a hotel?
Thanks,
Nick
Nick,
As you pointed out seniority governs much of what you can and cannot do at the airlines. Equally important is the actual airline, aircraft and operations of that airline. Let’s just say your ultimate goal is to fly 777s for a Major airline. If that 777 only does European and Asian trips, you could be the #1 pilot on the seniority list if those trips are all 4 days then yea you’ll be gone 4 days. Conversely I fly 717s Interisland for Hawaiian. ALL our trips are single day trips, we have no overnights. That means whether your #1 seniority or at the very bottom you will be home every night. New or aspiring pilots often ask doesn’t EVERYONE want to be a widebody Capt flying around the world making the top pay? The answer is no and the reason is exactly what you’re asking. If you want to be home more often, sure seniority will come into play but it also means looking for an airline that offers single or two day trips and then bidding for an aircraft that does those trips. Make sense?
Adam
Thanks for your time Adam
I want to be first and foremost a husband and a father and a pilot second. I would be willing to sacrifice money or an aircraft to spend more time with family. I will keep that in mind when looking were to work.
Nick
Nick,
Airlines have trip lengths anywhere from one day, to two weeks. Most trips however are four days or under in length. You can bid for whatever trips you like, but your seniority will dictate what you can hold. Keep in mind that single day trips take a great deal of seniority to hold and are usually on the smaller domestic aircraft. Widebody airplanes are typically deployed on international routes where the trips are several days long.
Being an airline pilot be definition means flying all over the world. If you are going to be happy in this career, you will have to be at peace with not being home every night.
Chris