Some food for thought. I DOR'd from Intermediate Jet a couple of flights from my first solo. I hope I can help someone make the right decision. I'm posting this in the Primary forum so more people see it, and because relatively few people actually DOR from intermediate/advanced.
I'd been getting increasingly frustrated with work after I started intermediate. I was miserable where I was living, I didn't really mesh well with a lot of the guys I worked with, and it seemed like 80% of the guys out here were married or engaged, not good for an older single guy like me. Over time, I started to dread going into work, or even hanging out at squadron. I was happy when my flights were cancelled for weather or whatever. Taking leave for the holidays made me dread going back even more, and I started to think that if the job was really fulfilling me, then the other stuff that was bothering me about where I was wouldn't even matter.
So I did the right thing, I talked to my class advisor about it. What I shouldn't have done was hang out of the cockpit so long, because it makes it that much harder to go back. When decision time came, I was on the fence up until the very last second. I talked to everyone in my chain of command. They were all supportive.
I wanted to redesignate, but I didn't get it, so I'll be out soon. Time away has given me perspective, and I miss flying and work like crazy. I'd thought hundreds of times about begging for my job back, but it was already too late.
My biggest mistake was isolating myself when things got tough. You NEED the guys (and girls) around you to get through training, especially if you're single. You should be active in squadron, make it a place you're cool to hang out at. Get to know your instructors and be on good terms with them. Do all that, and the work is that much better. It's not the other way around.
Nobody will try to convince you to stay in- it's not allowed. If anything, you'll be encouraged to get out, because as stressful as flight school is, it's only going to get more and more intense out in the fleet, and if you're unhappy with your life in school, with relative freedom and easy hours, you most certainly will run into problems when things get real. But that doesn't mean you can't fix whatever's bugging you. I'd wager that almost everyone thinks about quitting at some point or another in flight school, but most don't. Maybe some should, but don't due to pride, and they end up hating their work.
Honestly I don't know if I made the right decision. But not knowing is bad enough. And after you're stashed for a while, anything seems better. But if you're thinking about quitting, I suggest sticking it out, remembering why you joined. I think there are people who know this isn't for them. When they quit, they're relieved. This wasn't the case with me.
One more thing- before quitting altogether, consider a pipeline change. 90% of the guys I associated with in Primary went helos. Some of that was due to grades obviously, but some of it's due to personality. There's definitely a difference in the communities, and the guys I talked to in helo land had a pretty different experience than we did. Please note I'm not saying that one's better than the other - it's just a different environment that appeals to different strengths.
I'd been getting increasingly frustrated with work after I started intermediate. I was miserable where I was living, I didn't really mesh well with a lot of the guys I worked with, and it seemed like 80% of the guys out here were married or engaged, not good for an older single guy like me. Over time, I started to dread going into work, or even hanging out at squadron. I was happy when my flights were cancelled for weather or whatever. Taking leave for the holidays made me dread going back even more, and I started to think that if the job was really fulfilling me, then the other stuff that was bothering me about where I was wouldn't even matter.
So I did the right thing, I talked to my class advisor about it. What I shouldn't have done was hang out of the cockpit so long, because it makes it that much harder to go back. When decision time came, I was on the fence up until the very last second. I talked to everyone in my chain of command. They were all supportive.
I wanted to redesignate, but I didn't get it, so I'll be out soon. Time away has given me perspective, and I miss flying and work like crazy. I'd thought hundreds of times about begging for my job back, but it was already too late.
My biggest mistake was isolating myself when things got tough. You NEED the guys (and girls) around you to get through training, especially if you're single. You should be active in squadron, make it a place you're cool to hang out at. Get to know your instructors and be on good terms with them. Do all that, and the work is that much better. It's not the other way around.
Nobody will try to convince you to stay in- it's not allowed. If anything, you'll be encouraged to get out, because as stressful as flight school is, it's only going to get more and more intense out in the fleet, and if you're unhappy with your life in school, with relative freedom and easy hours, you most certainly will run into problems when things get real. But that doesn't mean you can't fix whatever's bugging you. I'd wager that almost everyone thinks about quitting at some point or another in flight school, but most don't. Maybe some should, but don't due to pride, and they end up hating their work.
Honestly I don't know if I made the right decision. But not knowing is bad enough. And after you're stashed for a while, anything seems better. But if you're thinking about quitting, I suggest sticking it out, remembering why you joined. I think there are people who know this isn't for them. When they quit, they're relieved. This wasn't the case with me.
One more thing- before quitting altogether, consider a pipeline change. 90% of the guys I associated with in Primary went helos. Some of that was due to grades obviously, but some of it's due to personality. There's definitely a difference in the communities, and the guys I talked to in helo land had a pretty different experience than we did. Please note I'm not saying that one's better than the other - it's just a different environment that appeals to different strengths.
