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Is it bad to be a work-a-holic?

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La Rue

Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2002
Posts
22
How many people, not employed by a good corporate job or scheduled operator, who are in a position similar to mine of working two flying jobs, fly nearly every day?

Reason I am asking, I was updating my resume this evening and occasionally I like to skim back through my log, kind of like looking back through a diary because I make the most of the remarks section and I took notice of the dates. There are several months where I have or was flying nearly every day, some days only two hrs local pattern work, the others on long trips for work. I take every chance I can get to fly, I have ferried planes for people on the weekends, hauled jumpers and then flown five nights of freight.

I usually don’t come close to maxing out my 7 days limits, but.

I was wondering if anyone else has a similar experience and how it might reflect upon an employer when he/she reviews my logbook?

Is it bad to be a work-a-holic?

James
 
I am not a professional pilot, but I have been working for about 15 years in big companies.

Its never bad to be a workaholic from the employer's perspective. Ideally, a corporation wants someone they can count on all the time at any time.

Despite what you read in the newspaper about corporations promoting family values, flexible schedules, work at home etc....it is all BS marketing dogma. Corporations only do that when they have to.

From the business perspective, you are just a cost overhead. The cheaper the cost or the more revenue you bring in, the better for the corporation. Corporations exist for one purpose, to make money for shareholders.

Being a workaholic is great from a corporate perspective. Just tell them you want to work as hard as you can to get as far as you can as fast as possible, and they will love you.
 
Called aviation and it is the only way to get where you are trying to go. There are two types of pilot's in the industry, those who have worked hard like you and love to fly. The others are the ones I call "country club pilots", they try and get as much time off as possible, they always call in sick, and a layover means more to them then a good long day of hard flying. Unfortunatly these are the guys that somehow have the master degree and everything else so they wind up in power positions. On the other hand they will die old and guys like you and me will croak the next day after we retire out of depression because we can't fly anymore.
 
Attitude toward work

I believe that the definition of workaholic is one who is addicted to work. It's all about attitude. I met a gentleman while I was in radio who loved his job. He was the Chief Engineer and was called out at all hours to fix equipment along with putting in a normal day. The man said that that every day was a vacation because he loved what he did.

Every bit of flying I had done before I started flying full time was on weekends or around work hours. So, when I started flying full-time, I never felt that I was working. In other words, although I was drawing a paycheck, it never seemed like a real job. As I reflect on it, the flying in and of itself never seemed like work. I remember that at one time I was working seven days a week. I loved every minute of it. Later, the BS would make it feel like work sometimes. What I do now most assuredly is a real job and work. I like it but I am not addicted to it.

I think that it reflects well on you if a prospective employer gathers that you are willing to work hard, but, frankly, depending on the employer, it may not make that much of difference. Employers say they want loyal employees but sometimes don't return that loyalty to them. Think about it. Also, consider burnout. Consider that no matter how much you enjoy what you're doing you need time for yourself from time to time, especially with the schedule you're putting in.
 
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Funny you guys bring this subject up. I'm a new flight instructor, and have been grappling as of late with just how much to work. One of the other instructors has put in continual 7 day weeks over the past year. Thus I've started up at the same pace. I don't know if it's for me, however. One of the owners has mentioned that I ought to pick "a day off", so i get the implication that 6 days a week is a good number. Once I hit the minimums I'm in line for a 135 slot, and it looks like those two events will happen simultaneously. On the other hand I'd like to spend time with my younger brother over the summer, some friends, make some progress on my bachelors, and live life. So I'm torn. 7 days a week and max hours/respect/income versus potentially squandering opportunity in a tough market but being a typical "kid." Further I don't want to screw my students by not being available when they are.

And it's not that I have any less love for this business, heck, I'm on flightinfo.com at 11:00pm, but I do have but one life to live. I dunno.
 
The airlines like pilots who like to fly. They want you to enjoy your work and to be willing to work hard.
 
When I was trying to get max hours in the shortest period of time, I worked 77 days straight. One day I flew 6 different makes and models - from traffic patrol in the morning in a C172 to flying tourists that night in a Seneca. Not the smartest thing in the world.

I needed to get hired by a regional and then I got after my Bachelor's degree.

But I was between wives, and I hung out with my friends at the flight school every day anyway. Life was great.
 
I think its also very important to have a life, and interests, outside of flying.

Some pilots are so "one-dimensional"..All they can talk about is flying and nothing else. It gets kinda aggravating trying to have a non-aviation conversation with these types, because they cant really do it. Often, the last thing I want to hear about when I am home is what is happening at some airline, or when someone will upgrade, or about some kind of plane. I can completely understand that joke about a pilots birth control, being their personality.

Flying is something I do for a living, but it does not neccessarily define who I am as a person. When I come home from work, I am pretty good at leaving work, at work. I dont spend all my off time schemeing about how I am going to get that great job, or how great it will be to get into some kind of plane. Dont get me wrong, I enjoy flying greatly, but when I am home, I try not to take work home with me.

Its a job, not my life.
 

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