Originally Posted by
Another Pilot
in saying that most turbo prop operators aren’t paying for ATP
- Silver Airways as mentioned above
- Connect Airways (WMA)
- Ravn Alaska
To name a few …. I am sure there are few others that we don’t know of as of now.
*** Question for regional guys who are already flying in US ***
Also with regionals with $50 an hour at 75 hours min pay guarantee makes you $3750 a month… take home after tax and insurance is $2600 approx.
Is this survivable salary? Are people struggling with rising cost of living as the salaries aren’t going up at regionals for now?
First-year regional salary is always a challenge in the US even for local guys. When I started it was $38 per hour.
Most regionals have a signing bonus. Probably factor that into your budget as well.
Allow two years for captain upgrade.
You need to bring enough money with you from Australia maybe 20-30K AU to cover lean times and to set yourself up.
You will need a car eventually.
2nd year FO life gets easier, 75 hours is a min guarantee. Usually, there is the opportunity to make more money on overtime 200% or 300% rates depending on how hard you want to work.
In my first year, I usually would bid for lines that credited 90 hours. It was fatiguing though.