RLC basic wages are comparable to the Big 3 in the GOM: PHI & Airlog, ERA- but the benefits are not. PHI makes a matching contribution of 6% of your base pay into your 401k, every paycheck- 4 years gets you about $18,000 in company contributions. That is a down payment on a house.
Other Big 3 GOM incentives: Safety $$ bonuses, excellent health insurance programs, clean housing, free uniforms, the ability to move into mediums whenever you want to, or an opportunity to move into EMS (PHI only) after being with the company only a short while. They have top notch training, equipment, and maintenance. You will not see the Big 3 harvesting parts off one helicopter to get another one running- they stock parts, engines and transmissions, and do not trade parts between helicopters. You can be sure that you are flying something that has either new or rebuilt parts (a pedigree), instead of a hamburger made from 100 different cows.
RLC's equipment is tired, and the atmosphere is very laid back. Most of the people that I have met from the smaller operators in the GOM seem alright, but why anybody would want to fly a tired single engine 150 miles offshore is beyond me- most of them either don't know any better, are unable to obtain employment with the Big 3, or are unwilling to commit to a career path of any kind. To each his own....
If you are interested in going the IFR mediums/heavies route (or EMS), then skip the smaller operators and save yourself a few years by hiring on with one of the Big 3. Good luck to you.
.....just my .02