Good on you V-SFO some one who is in touch with reality.
I would love to join V Aust as a LAME on the 777 but unfortunately they wont be doing any of their on spanner turning for the forseeable future.
But I do believe if you have joined at the start of this operation and it turns out to be successful then $53k might just be the spring board to the right seat. Some companies still reward loyalty. QF isn't one of them, hopefully V Aust will be.
From my experience most people in the Virgin group are happy and willing, it reminds me of the way QF used to be.