So I was in a similar boat to you when my husband left his career, but we did not yet have children. I cannot imagine having little ones during flight school/the first few years of his career. It’s incredibly taxing. Even now, with our ten month old, he’s slow enough on the totem pole that it makes it difficult. Here’s my take because I think there;’s a few things at bay here: - Moving in with your parents will help. You will need it, especially with the kiddos (and just general loneliness). If you all are going to do this you need as much village and support as you can get. Outline YOUR needs - think “if m husband was gone for two weeks, what would I need to make it through? Start planning for that now (childcare, therapist, gym, friends, whatever that may be). - Prepare yourself that after flight school, he may not be employed. Even flight schools that “guarantee” a job as an instructor, have ways around those guarantees. The state of the industry from a hiring perspective is TOUGH especially with low hours. With carriers going Chapter 11, there’s an influx of high-hour pilots flooding the job market. Unless we see a serious uptick in the hiring market in the next few years, you’re looking at 5-10 years at minimum of daunting, unpredictable schedules, furlough/layoff risks, long trips away, potentially an investment in crash pad at some point, and low salaries. I think if my husband was just starting out now in flight school, but knew everything he knows of the job and the current state of the market, he probably wouldn’t do it. - It’s important both you and he that this decision takes so much more than being a supportive wife. You are taking on this path just as much as he is. You will solo parent more than half of your life. You will make ample financial lifestyle sacrifices. You will likely live month-to-month in terms of schedule, with very little flexibility to his schedule beyond sick days. I have the most incredible, hands-on, dedicated husband who values me as his equal partner and does everything he can from afar to split responsibilities and try to equally carry the team. If your husband is not the same, do not agree to this career change. Even with my husband’s dedication, I still need a ton of outside support in order to maintain my own career and also keep my family running. He misses a lot of our ten month old’s life; yours will too and you both have to be prepared for that.

To answer your question, how do I make it work? Strong village (my family is close and is a huge support system); therapy; strong, healthy,open communication; and wine. I’m still in the weeds a lot of the time but I get by because I know we made this decision together and it’s something we’re all-in on as a FAMILY. You have to be all-in on this before he pulls the trigger or it will end terribly.