should I stay or should I go?

I really, truly, never thought I would ever have this debate with myself.

Should I stay in aviation, or should I go find something else to do that I can actually make money with?

I use to scoff at people who lacked the decisiveness to make a career choice, after all I had my entire life planned out. Or at least the first 5 years after I started my flight training. Here I sit at year 4 from when I moved to Florida and now I myself sit at the proverbial ‘fork in the road’.

Dammit.

I have some options still. I can stay where I’m at. I can move to Switzerland(maybe- dependent on approval of a Visa) and continue instructing. I could move anywhere in the US to a different aviation job, that is if I could actually find one. I could move anywhere in the US to a different job altogether, that is if I could actually find one.

I’m getting slightly frustrated with where aviation has left me. Just enough income to survive, not enough income to actually thrive. Breaking even every month is a blessing, and going negative is nearly a guarantee each month.

Main factor here is work. Since October’ish I’ve been primarily conducting stage checks. It’s been an interesting road of ‘WTF did you just say/do?’ to ‘WOW you can fly my kids around any day’. The experience gained from this has been beyond any stretch of the imagination. My knowledge level was good before I started, but it’s just ridiculous what I know now(even though I still know nothing). However, after all this ‘rainbows and lollipops’ talk of how superb doing stage checks is, there is a dark side. It’s boring, it’s repetitive, sometimes can be mindless, and I don’t make nearly as much.

I want to be in a position that I don’t have to be AT WORK to make money. That’s not possible in the career field I’ve chosen, I know this. I would love to fly professionally for FUN. On the side, in addition to whatever else it is I can do. I just don’t know what that is yet.

I feel like the decisions I make in the next few months and the next year, will determine what I’m going to be doing for the next 25 years of my life. I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot of pressure for a few seemingly easy decisions! What’s more important? What will I be happy with when I’m on the edge of my death bed? Why am I even thinking about this? Who even reads this?