Aviation enthusiasts always dream of a career as an airline pilot. The life looks glamorous, lavish, fun and high paying. Who wouldn’t like to get paid to travel the world..right? Well as the cliche says “The grass is always green on the other side”. Today, we’ll explore few aspects of the life of an airline pilot that would make you think again about your future plans. I am sure, by the end of this blog, you would repeatedly ask yourself, Do I really want a career as an Airline Pilot?
Say Goodbye to Holidays and Festivals.
Pilots have a roster system, which means your working days aren’t fixed. You may have to work on holidays, festivals like Diwali, Christmas and New Years. Right now, you may think “Yeah, that’s fine, I’ll work on Holidays, no big deal….” but you are saying because right now, you are a bachelor. Your lifestyle is different, your priorities in life are different. When you will get married and start a family, your priorities will change and you will regret not being able to spend time with your loved ones on festivals.
Hotels are your new Home.
Your life is controlled by the airline. You can be rescheduled for a flight or called in from standby with just 45 mins before the scheduled departure time. Layovers are a part of every pilot’s routine. Today you may spend your layover in a hotel in Bangalore, tomorrow maybe in Mumbai, after that in Cochin and finally after 10 days of continuous travelling you may fly back to your base. Again as I mentioned earlier, as a bachelor, you will enjoy the lavish 5 Star Hotel Rooms, swimming pools, grand buffet but imagine doing it repeatedly once you start a family. You will enjoy it for the first 6 months or maybe even a year of your career, but eventually you get sick and bored of it and miss your home, your loved ones and home cooked food.
Your Health goes for a Toss.
I would say that a pilot’s health is compromised the most. They have no fixed routine. Not everyone’s body can adjust to such dynamic routine. Pilots face a lot of trouble adjusting such environment. Just imagine, you have lined up with the runway and about to takeoff and suddenly you get nature’s call. How uncomfortable it may get for a pilot to focus in such situations.
- Adjusting your sleep cycle is a very difficult task. Today you might be operating a red-eye flight which needs you to be awake and alert throughout the whole night and sleep during the day. Few days later you are operating during the day so now, you need to reverse your sleep cycle completely.
- You are continuously exposed to high volume sounds when you are flying. There is continuous ATC Chatter, Engine Noise, etc.
- Your stress levels are through the roof. Sometimes your stress and irritation reach at such levels that you can’t wait to get out of the cockpit and sleep on a bed.
- Your body may start aching after sitting continuously in a particular posture for long time. This may not be so much for shorter flights but definitely a problem on long flights. You can occasionally get up and take a walk about the cabin during cruise but there isn’t much room to spread your legs and or walk comfortably.
Here. I want to mention a fact that, your body does get accustomed to such environment over a period of time and you will always see a pilot taking extra efforts to remain healthy by exercising regularly.
Studies and Exams.
Those who think that they will be free from studying and exams after they become an airline pilot are thinking WRONG. Right from the first day at their flying school to the last flight of their career, pilots are studying everyday. Studies and exams never stop in a pilot’s career. A Pilot has to prove his competency every 6 months for which he has to study and retain the knowledge regularly. If he/she fails any competency check, they can be grounded till he undergoes training and appear for exams again. A Pilot needs to be well versed of all Normal, Non Normal and Emergency procedures of an aircraft at all times.
This post wasn’t intended to discourage you in any way. If you wish to pursue a career as an Airline Pilot, go for it! For me, even with so many disadvantages it’s still the best career in the world!