skipro101

I want to fly for expressjet, but am having trouble discerning what my pay will be (including per diem); and whether or not I can afford the first year.
I have monthly payments for credit cards and flight/education loans that in total = 1045.00

This does not include gas, food, rent (or indeed any other expense).


I read several threads on first year pay, and it varies widely. Considering the likelihood of me being based in LAX/ONT, how long would reserve be there and can a junior guy there expect to work the system for more than 75 credit hours? Then again, I probably would have to commute, because living in LA or Ontario would be uber expensive. Commuting wouldnt allow me to pick up last min trips.

Can I reasonably expect to be able to group my flying together and be on the road for the first 18 days of the month? In other words, does it have to be spread out with 5 day trips here, 4 there, etc. It would be nice if I could have 12 consecutive days off to make more money...


Also, 1500 for 2 months during training? (assuming it takes average of 7 weeks)...Im living paycheck to paycheck and dont have a $ buffer. I'm scared that if I take the job it will bankrupt me during training.


Thoughts? I love the company, would very much like to come aboard but I'm just scared of going into default on my loans during my first year there.

I konw that I wont be able to buy toys, pay 10.00 for meals everyday, etc... but I'm wondering if I will even be able to pay my bills.

I think I need at least 2000 take home/month (including per diem) to even have a fighting chance.

skipro101

Also, what about the charter flying, obivously that is better pay...I heard 2 years till you can do that? But I also heard that you must interview for it and its not seniority based.

So what is the real deal? Is there a chance of interviewing for the charter side a few months after being hired?

FLflyer

Short answer: NO
The reason is that the charter interviews are granted in seniority order, so only the most senior CA's and most senior FO's get to interview. (And in the case of a senior FO, you're looking at 2 years or more).

Apache 5

Skip, you're not going to get in on the charter flying anytime soon...its for the forever FOs and forever XJT captains- i.e. guys that've been here for a long time and probably arent going anywhere. As far as I know, they havent interviewed for any charter spots since the initial round almost a year ago now.

You've got some very real concerns, and they seem to be all valid questions. But, we arguably have the best regional contract out there...so you may suffer more at other companies, though some of the incentives (like Pinnacle's training bonus/pay) may make it seem otherwise. I agree, one downside here is the high living expenses to be incurred if you were to live in LA/Ontario or Newark. Remember this too, though, commuting on reserve requires a committment to a crash pad or something...probably an extra $200/month out of your pocket on the west coast and maybe a little less out in Newark.

Good luck with your decision...at least you're thinking about the $$$ aspect of it all and not just the glamour of the shiny jet. If you can figure out a way to get thru the 1st year, it gets much better after that. Me= I was fortunate enough to move back in with my folks who live about a 1/2 hr from Newark for the 1st year. 30 yrs old and moving back home= priceless.

nyflyer

You just need to get through the first year, if you can. I am on second year pay and bring home about $3,600 clean a month, that includes per diem. I have the minimum deductions as of now, but will increase my 401k contribution as time goes on. If you are EWR based you can usually count on a few extra hours of overage pay a month with all the delays! Hope that helps and good luck with your decision, XJT is a good place to be right now if you are just starting out.

skipro101

3600/ month on second year FO pay? Really?


Do you think I could make 2000 take home/ month as a first year FO?

11thHour

IIRC, my first year pay has averaged like this:
About 95 hours/month
$520 ish small check
$1400 ish big check

so about 1900-2000/month. However, I live in TX (god help me), so no state income tax. I was contributing 6% to 401k, plus have EPO med plan and dental deductions, plus uniform deductions. If not for my wife working part time and having started this job with a huge savings, we'd have gone bankrupt. It's disgusting what they pay first year, no denying that. Good luck.

schoolio

The other end of the spectrum:

I'm a will-fly this month, and I won't break guarantee here in IAH. My paycheck is in the $670 range after fed & state taxes and 401k (not counting per diem). I don't do the health insurance (my wifes insurance is better). So tack on another few hundred bucks for per diem and my take home works out to around $1500. I made almost as much flipping burgers at Six Flags in 1995.

Granted I haven't been as aggressive as some of the other guys as far as trying to fly, but even if I had, my calculations say that I may have just barely broken guarantee (less than 10 hours over).

If it wasn't for my wife's job (she's a nurse), I'd have to go back on active duty to pay the bills.

Sounds like you're doing good in trying to plan. Just realize that while some guys are bringing home nearly $2K a paycheck first year by picking up trips and what not, us guys on reserve aren't being utilized as much and are bringing home guarantee.

Good luck with your decision.

nyflyer

Yes, and yes it is possible, especially at EWR.

PositiveRate

I have the same issue. Between student loans, credit cards, and necessities (gas, insurance, etc) I'm actually in the negative every month. I got through training with more Credit Cards (yeah not the best idea but you do what you have to do) and now my monthly is just like they said, around 1300-1500, hopefully better once I hold a line. But for now, I am only suriving by living with the rents and in base so no extra overhead for commuting (food/crashpad/etc)...I would have not been able to pull this off otherwise.