SO commuting
Commuting is not a problem from ML to SYD on the A330 - however it is a bit of a pain. These are some things (although SMALL in the big scheme of things) to think about for ML-SYD commuting.
1. At the moment WITH staff travel it is $138.80 BUSINESS class (although you can and will be downgraded) and $126 ECONOMY.
2. There is some stress with commuting as you might not get a seat. This leaves you a few options - get a flight at least three or four BEFORE you REALLY need to depart, or leave the night before (STBY 0700 to 1900 means a night before departure)
3. Accommodation - depending on where you stay it will cost about $55 - 75 per night.
4. Don't check you baggage - always have carry on, this will save you time at the end.
The A330 roster is shorter than the 744 in terms of trip length, next roster sees something like this - about a week off then 5 or 6 trips all of 4 days away and all with three days at home.
As for the pay - it is about 36k for the training (3 months on the bus). Remember that if you live in MEL you will need to stay in SYD during the training - more cost. At the moment, and for the foreseeable future, part of the QF SO A330 training is being done in HK or Singapore, or KL (about 15-16 days away = about $2300 Aust in allowances)
The hourly rate for training is $34/hour min divisor of 155 hours per bid period (56 days)
The hourly rate for the first 18 months is $64/hour. This DOES NOT include allowances - very ROUGHLY about A$100 per day whilst away.
Look closely at the interview stuff in 18 months, I BELIEVE (think, heard, perhaps) that QF is now going down the psych test then an interview based on behavioral technique (ie NO tech stuff - they did really care about your tech knowledge - that is assumed by the fact that you have done ATPL and any experience you already have - you've been tested on this stuff many times in the past).
The difference in SO pay between the A330 and the 744 is about 30k per year (REMEMBER this is A GUIDE/GOUGE/GUESS/ANECDOTAL) as ALL pay depends on how much you work - overtime.
As a commuter you might want to budget about $1000 - $1200 per bid period (56 days) on commuting costs.
Let the experts correct my mistakes, but for what you were after, this should give you some rough figures to plan with.