Some interesting posts but I just thought I’d try and temper the pessimism which seems to be hanging over this thread.
Getting a direct entry position onto the 777 is a fantastic opportunity, which doesn’t come around very often. With regard to working weekends and limited choice of trips… All I can say is that there is enough variety to keep anyone’s interest up, at least for the time it will take you to move up the seniority list and bid for the ‘better’ destinations. Remember also that a weekend trip might actually be a report on Sunday afternoon or clearing early on Saturday morning.
Yes it takes a while to get senior, but figure on this: There are roughly 330 F/O’s on the 777. My spies tell me that groundschool are expecting 80 DEP’s from September this year. Moral of the story is if you get in early, you won’t be at the bottom for long.
As far as the money goes - £2600 would be take home for a year 1 F/O with zero flying in that month. As soon as you get any sort of normal roster, you can add at least £1000 to that. The senior F/O’s (10 years to really be up there) will take home a lot more.
Getting in won’t be easy though. The application process has many pitfalls and one easy way to slip up is poor spelling or punctuation on the application form. I’m only mentioning that because here on PPrune you often see mistakes. I know that for many, English might not be a first language, but take time to check the difference between “to and too” as well as your and you’re.
For more tips on the application process you can always try
www.futureairlinepilot.com
Best of Luck,
L F W