Interesting question. I can't speak from experience, but to give insight, I'll tell you about my dad. Here's the story....
Growing up, I couldn't have told you what my dad did for a living. As a kid, all I knew was that he was gone four days at a time and went to the airport when he went to work. By the third grade, I figured out that he drives airplanes. No big deal - my best friend's dad drives an 18 wheeler.
So years pass (my dad and I are pretty close) and it's time for college. I don't know what I want to do for the rest of my life. I talk to my dad about his career and try to get advice. All I know is that the money he brings home is pretty good and he's around a lot. Sounds cool. I'll plan on doing what he does.
So, I train to be a pilot. No real support from dad except for the $$$. He's in no way shape or form in touch with what I'm doing. Through college (NOT RIDDLE) we were groomed to be airline pilots. Industry history classes leave me with lots of questions for my dad.
I finish the flying degree, like it, work a few places flying death traps, then get hired with a very respected regional. Commuting off-line in the cockpit of various airlines, I began putting together what happened with my father's career. As it turns out, he was hired as an "expansion pilot" with a major airline with a huge presence in Denver. Never crosssing a picket line though, he still did the dirty deed.
We don't talk about the past much. He knows I know what he did. I still love him. He's my father. We don't see eye to eye when it comes to taking advantage of certain opportunities.
So to get back to the point, my father retired quietly as a 777 captain from a big airline. He was never an aviation enthusiest or airline buff. Flying was a job, not a passion. It paid the bills. That's all. He did what was required of him and nothing more.
