May I intrude for a moment? I'm certainly not a billionaire, nor do I have any particular desire to become one. My financial situation is such that ownership and operation of a G550 is not a significant expense in the general scheme of things.
I employ three pilots full time, with salaries about 18% higher than the NBAA maximum reported salaries for the G550. They have excellent benefits, and I fervently hope that I am treating them well. I both like and admire them. They are decent, honorable men, with extraordinary skills as aviators.
Our aircraft is used about 500 horus per year for family travel (our family is spread all over the place).
I've said most of this before. There are family owners out there who treat their employees like dirt. There are others who believe, as I do, that pilots are highly skilled professionals who should be treated with respect, dignity and even kindness.
I hope that you find employment with some of the good guys, not the louts.
Before we hired our third pilot, we used contractors when one of our pilots needed a day off/got sick/took vacation. I do not know what the proper pay scale for a contractor on the G550 is; we paid (I think) around $1400/day plus expenses.
Two of the four that we used are not welcome in our aircraft EVER again. One showed up for a return flight from Munich 4 hours late, laughing because he "overslept in a brothel". The other fell asleep in the lavatory and couldn't be awakened for about 3 hours.
In the end we hired a third pilot, not from among the contractors we'd used, but from among a small group of pilots known and respected by our Captain.
I guess what I am driving at is that there are bad apples on both sides of the fence. Owners who give us all a bad name, and pilots who have no business associating with civilized people.
Good luck with your career. I truly hope things get better.