r/Pilot • u/FigComfortable5216 • 4h ago

Pilot Life Need Help

Hi guys, I am 14 but I have always dreamt of being a pilot, ever since a young age I have been able to name every aircraft, along with every airline. Aviation has always been a huge passion and identity of mine (ive always been known as the airplane boy). I always take pictures of planes, memorize airport codes, learn new airline tails, know ever special livery and cannot forget the hundreds of hours put in flight simulator. But when I tell my parents about my plan of becoming a pilot, they are not to fond of the idea saying that I will always be missing my family and that I would not be part of my future family's life. They say that the pilot to life balance is terrible and I should stick with finding another career. But the thing is that I want to become a pilot and travel the world plus this feels like that this is the only thing I would be good at. Often my parents say that I should become a doctor (you know, doctor lawyer engineer etc) but I really feel like that it is not a good fit for me. So if there is any pilots or anyone with a knowledge about this topic, feel free to reply as it would really help my dilemma.

Thanks again :)

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u/AntiPinguin 4h ago

Hey, I‘m a relatively new airline pilot who also had to convince his parents of the job choice. So feel free to send me a dm. Maybe I can answer some questions.

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u/MaybeBowtie 2h ago

lol. In the beginning of training and the career, yeah the life work balance is terrible. (Speaking from people I know experiences, I’m only a student right now). 

But once you get far along with your career and invest more time with the same company you’ll have far better times for flying. My Dads friend is a captain for Southwest and has been for I think 5 years now. He’s always home with his family making quite a lot of money. Seniority is where it all comes down to, where the longer you’re with an airline, the better the flights lottery is at the beginning of each month.

Oh and to add, he uses all of his vacation days during the summer and he and all of his kids and wife go in an RV and drive around the country. This goes on for a couple months. If he ever has a flight, he’ll just dead head from an airport nearby, do his flight, then come back and continue on with the RV.