Not on the 744 but hope the following helps you a little..
Just wondering if there is any SYD base KE 744 and 777 drivers that could answer those questions:
1-How many days work per month?
You get 6 hard days + 3 soft days and you can take your 2 days leave per month. On the 744 & 777 I believe you get 3 commuting days per month. So in a 31 day month you will be away from home for 18 days. You will also get legal minimum days off between trips whilst at work.
2-How many days off at the base per month in a block?
See above, probably somewhere around about 5-6
3-Do you bid for days off or trips?
There is no bid system per se but that's not to say you can't ask the schedulers for a particular trip. They are also flexible with your days off so you can adjust your blocks of days off within reason.
4-Take home pay (salary+per diem)
Pay varies between fleets, the 744 are on USD$12K+, the 777 are on USD$10.7K+. The per diems will vary but are about USD$ 1000 per month. (These figures are from the gapaviation website)
[I]5-average flight time/month
The 747 & 777 are considered the long haul fleet and they work hard, and you frequently hear of guys going into overtime. You will also find yourself going east one trip and then west on your next trip, then east again....
6-best fleet to be on? (routes, days off, lifestyle, crews....)
Not on either so very subjective. B747 pays more is the bigger fleet has more expats on it, has a mix of cargo and pax. The B777 is probably the aircraft for the longer term future, is more modern, but pays less, and goes to (marginally) fewer destinations.
7-Best broker, broker to avoid dealing with, and why?
I think the general consensus is that CCL are the best brokers. But it is horses for courses so do your homework.
Fragglerock
Hope the above also answers your questions.
Re, hiring non-type rated DECs. I haven't seen the adverts but believe that you should read the wording carefully. My understanding is that they will hire you if you have time on a suitable type e.g. B767 for the B777 say, BUT you have to go away and come back with a B777 command type rating at your own expense. As I say I haven't seen the advert but that is my understanding from talking to other crew, so may well be wrong.