I'll see if I can answer some of your questions for you.
Pay Scales.. Starting pay is pretty low. I believe around 34000, you are on straight salary for 2 yrs then go on an hourly wage. It is a pretty fluid amount right now as we are slowly clawing back the hit we took in CCAA. 5th yr FO pay is about 48000. It is status pay so it makes no difference what type you are on. When you upgrade to the left seat you simply transfer to the captains payscale at whatever year you were on. eg if you were on 8yr fo pay you would start at 8th yr captain pay.
Block hours. They have just gone up. We were averaging about 82 hrs a month. Because we are so short of pilots next month is 85-90hrs.
Days off. You are guaranteed 12 days off a month. Most guys are averaging about 14-15.
Benefits. We have a very good health plan with full dental, medical etc.
Perdiems. You can expect anywhere from 600-900 a month in perdiems depending on what type of pairings you bid. Obviously if you work all 4 day pairings you will make more than someone who works all single day pairings.
Upgrades. They are based solely on seniority. It think the junior captain in the company has about 8 yrs in. The RJ is a bit more senior than the Dash right now but with more of the little jets coming all the time, the wait to get on one will likely get shorter.
Schedule. Again it really depends on your seniority. As a new hire you will sit reserve for a while. How long depends on alot of factors, number of hirings, number of reserve blocks in a base, etc etc. The pairings are anywhere up to 4 days in length. We stay in pretty good hotels, the length of overnight can vary anywhere from a min turn of 10hrs up to 18-19 hrs in one place. It varies a lot.
Overall its a pretty good place to work. More planes coming and more routes opening up.
Hope that answers your questions,
Good Luck.