Typical week
Typical week??? Good question with no easy answer. The only constant is change. It's unfortunately, one of those things you have to experience to understand. There have been numerous guys who have punched-out at the earliest opportunity because of the work schedule, including friends I’ve recommended.
Some trips you work so much it's hard to find time to take a proper shirt. Read 14 hr duty, 10 hr rest. 8 solid hours of sleep can be an elusive thing. Other times, you get a lucky draw and find yourself babysitting a broken plane for a week. You could be in Jackson Hole, but most likely in Teterhole. There can be seasonality to how busy you are too. There are fleets that get more flying than others. The bottom line is you will work hard.
If you have to know where you are going tomorrow or even later in the day or sometimes in the next hour, you might not like NJA. It can really drive you nuts on your last day, when you are wondering just how and when the company might be getting you home. To further send you over the top, you aren't allowed to speak the individuals who control your fate(scheduling). SERENITY NOW!
7&7? not a cocktail. The previously posted "7 on sucks, but 7 off rocks". really sums it up. It's tough being away from family that long, but every time you return home, it's like a week vacation....no correspondence with the company.
The old 17 day reserve schedule was tough. Got that t-shirt. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. The new 18 day reserve has not been tried yet. Read all about it in our contract since you may well be doing it.
Other reasons people leave besides schedule:
Don’t like loading Lovie and Thurston’s oversized luggage, loading catering, monitoring the lav service (nothin’ like the smell of blue juice in the morning), etc., etc., etc. BTW, you have less than an hour to do all this, on top of insuring that you are going to have a safe flight. I think it’s double the job of an airline/commuter pilot. If you get paired with a slug, it's 3x the work.
Generally, some don’t like being the hired help to the rich. They’d rather do bus driving or freight hauling than limo driving. This is very understandable.
It’s easy to feel like the Monty Python "piss boy" if you let it get to you. The flip side is there's 2200? on the seniority list now. Many are staying. Including me. Unless FedEx calls.
Personally, I like the variety of flying. I more often than not like the owners I fly. I like not being in busy terminals and not commuting on my time. (With the new deal you may be doing some commuting on your own time unless you live in one of our collection centers). I like the hotels and the hotel/airline points. I've had great "free" vacations 2x/yr. I have a preceived sense of job security(perhaps false). Most importantly, I like 99% of those I fly with. My main gripe is with the new contract: I will lose some of the state subsidies I used to qualify for.
Max out your 401k.