Bored and Lonely Pilot: Aviation Careers Podcast 323

Welcome to the Inspirational, Informational, and Transparent Aviation Careers Podcast. Today we answer a listener question for a bored and lonely pilot looking to rekindle the flying passion.

Before we begin I want to congratulate three of our coaching clients for achieving career goals.

First, congratulations to our first client for obtaining a job flying a KingAir 350 as a corporate pilot. He first started as a flight instructor and then landed a job in the right seat of a King Air C90 and then the company upgraded to a C-350.

Congratulations to our second client who landed a job with a regional airline that flies Dash-8 Q400 turboprops and Embraer E175 a 76 seat jet! Great job on landing your first regional job.

Congratulations to our third client who has been a long time coaching client and who we spent time with preparing his goals and helping him prepare for the interview for his dream job. He landed his dream job of flying a Boeing 747, the queen of the skies, with a cargo carrier who flies around the world.

Again congratulations to all of our three clients for achieving their flying goals. If you want to share in their success consider career coaching at AviationCareersPodcast.com/coaching.

Now on to the show and listener mail.

Listener Mail:

Hi Carl,

I’ve enjoyed listening to the podcast and have gotten a lot from them, so thanks for those! Pardon me if my thoughts here seem rambled or if it gets long, but I think maybe it would help me to write out some thoughts and share them even if you don’t have time to read, respond, or use them.

I’m 24 years old with an ATP, 1800 hours, and am flying a private jet for a large aircraft management company primarily flying part 135. I started this job about 2 months ago and I previously flew for a small part 135 company where much of the work was out and back trips providing transportation for the organ donation process. I have a very active social life outside of work with family, friends, and enjoy time outdoors whenever I have time.

Transitioning to this new job has been difficult as I’ve had tons of time spent on the road, less flying, and not enough to do in all my free time while away from home. I get bored quickly and have trouble enjoying myself when I am alone so much, not to mention missing out often on life back at home. I enjoy flying but, I’m beginning to wonder if going towards faster, bigger, and more advanced is the best career path for me. This job also has a very uncertain schedule with trip changes keeping me on the road for many more days than originally scheduled and it can become frustrating because my quality of life seems to suffer greatly. I’m generally a very positive person and am often able to see the benefits of things over the drawbacks but, now I seem to struggle.

The job fell into my lap fairly quickly, I think without me having a super clear picture of what it entirely was. I’m feeling bad for becoming impatient so quickly into a new job, especially in these times where many other pilots would happily do my job but, I can’t help but wonder about getting through the next year and what my future might hold. I signed a year-long training contract so I think I need to find ways to muster up patience, things to do, and more purpose in my work.

I keep wondering if I have the appropriate interest and drive to continue this path and if I do, I wonder how I could rekindle it.

Do you have any quick thoughts that immediately come to mind or any quick advice that you could offer?

Thank you so much for everything you do and for the time you take to help so many people!

Talking Points:

How to avoid being bored.
- Get a hobby you can do on the road.
- Help others.
How to avoid being alone while on the road.
- Keep in touch with friends and family.
If the job you have is not what you thought it would be it is time to change:
- Start planning your next move.
- Define your goals very specifically.
- How many days if any do you want to be away from friends and family.
- There are jobs you can find locally that pay well but…
- Are you willing to relocate?
- Be honest with yourself as to what is important in your career.
Career Coaching