"wannabe zombie army", thats the best desciption of PTF I have read. Sorry, no offence intended to anyone.
To answer your question, each airline has its own def.of SO, in the old days tended to be LH cruise pilots, places like Cathay still use them. Build up your hours, length of service, experience, LPC/OPC, whatever the benchmark is, get an extra stripe, landing rights and a payrise (usually).
Nowadays, on SH, its often connected to the new cadets coming in on zero time schemes. In our outfit this is what the rules are:
A Second Officer may not operate as PF for take-off or landing in the
following circumstances:
Take-Off: Headwind in excess of 30 kts Crosswind component in excess of
15 kts
Landing: Headwind in excess of 30 kts Crosswind component in excess of
15 kts
Approach: Cloudbase: Lower than Minima + 300 feet
Visibilty: Visibility Minima + 500 metres
LVPs There is no restriction to any minima whilst operating as PNF
There are other minor restrictions with line captains and none with training capts.Promotion occurs after 2 lpc/opc's which are satis.
Obviously, line pilots will look closely at your ability and experience and might be more prescriptive in what they will allow you to do, (ie 220kts to 5 miles with a splitass turn to intercept will not impress, even if you pull it off), always remember the Capt. is protecting his own license (income) as well as the pax lives so try to impress by being very careful, SOP and professional. Again, no offense intended, but these days everyone loves a safe pair of hands.
As regards the rest of your points, T&C's vary almost on an individual basis. Sometime spent with the search function should uncover most of the traps regarding your prospective employer and plenty to compare. It is interesting to note that your Cityjet salary is precisely what I earned with my first employer, on turboprops, in 1997. No training costs, but bonded for 3yrs,18k. I'm sorry for you that you have reaped the whirlwind of the last five years of racing to the bottom. All you can do is bite the bullet and leave for a better job as soon as you can. Company loyalty is no longer given or received, so do not be backward in doing what is best for you. GL