Ozvandriver, SloppyJoe hit the nail on the head. Its all in the housing allowance and without it the international cadets are on a financial suicide mission. I have sat down and worked it out. The only way that the cadet program works for a foreigner is for you to leave once you have an endo and a few years under your belt as an FO. So plan on 4yrs as an SO, 2 years FO and then pull the plug. Even then this is marginal when you consider the non-financial factors such as the pollution and the shoebox apartments. My advice is think long term and see throught the haze that is the Shiney Jet Syndrome.