Hey Sprinbock..
Well, to be honest with you, you might have to sit on the ground for a while, with your "basic salary" only, waiting your new employer to send you on contract... this is the way it SOMETIMES goes.
The turnover rate at which pilots do come and leave those companies, plus the constant "changes" in the contracts they fly for ( and also sometimes the Ops's unability to respect their own words and transform a schedule in a complete Picasso piece or art in which you don't know if you have to cry or burst laughting when you look at it...) WILL not help you to have a stable life...
But then, in the mean time, if they need you now NOW, you won't even have the time to drop the pen after signing the contract that you will end up for months on the other side of the world...
Basically, be ready for any situation, and to accept it as it comes...( and be sure you have enought cash on your bank account before to sign, 'cos you might have to stay for a while without having any S&T..or Per Diem as some call it...)
Good Luck