GMax
Though I believe that what-to-do paints a fair picture. 8 flights a month was a rarity for me. It was not often I flew that much! Most months as an FO were in the 6-7 flights per month region prior to upgrade.
I am not supporting the disparity merely pointing out that it more than exists. The passing like ships in the night thing is very fair indeed. Prior to the inception of PBS it was like that for most of us. Mrs VT actually started complaining about the fact that the food budget had increased as I never seemed to go to work!
The point however is that whilst my end of the seniority may appear desirable as an FO it was still back to the drawing board of life the moment you upgrade. Now reasonable day flights i.e 3-4hrs are the best that you can hope for with the odd night thrown in an about 10-12 days in the office per month. So it is still way better than your average long haul guy at EK but everything else pales into insignificance compensation wise.
As for GMax if you leave the US to come here when you have a job on the A330 you will regret it for the rest of your life. I am not known for sitting on the fence but you would literally have to be barking mad to give up that life to come here as a B737 FO. The money may seem attractive AND to be fair it is but you spend all of it to have a reasonable life as an FO you would be lucky to even get through the month on it unless you have no children and are debt free.
So 18 months to 3 yrs of eeking out and existence followed by making a little bit of cash. I mean little bit perhaps you can save $3000 a month so $35000 or so a year. Any decent property purchase will net you that amount and you won't have to live with the constant uncertainty, gross general incompetence in retail and banking and poor service combined with an unbelievably weak work ethic that is the everyday life here.
Life here is very good when you don't have to get involved with the admin side of life and I still fully intend to stay here for years but the difficulties are numerous and you must accept very low standards on most things.
Do you really want to leave a country where things work to come to one where they don't. What real gain do you have by coming here. You are employed in your home country flying a long-medium haul plane that is something that most of us here can never have in this airline, hence why we move on.
Why would you choose to go down the pecking order rather than up it. In 5 yrs time you will be an A330 captain. How bad can your company really be! I am willing to bet your bottom dollar that it is not worse than working here!
If you just want to fulfil your adventurous streak or phase in life then take up wing suit flying or something or get a motorbike but coming here is for those on turboprops who need to get jets, those who need command or those who are unemployed. This is a place to start or end your career definitely not a place to have a career.
It suits me but I have fairly unusual circumstances and those of us from Europe are only 4-7hrs flight from home with good connections and a large expat community.
What both Vortex and What to do are alluding to is basically this is place for those who have nowhere else to go. It is not somewhere that you leave a reasonable job to come to. You may not like your current employer very much but you have rights, protections, freedom of speech and action and you are employed in a permanent job. Perhaps you have not been through what many of us have been through but when you have been unemployed for any period of time you will value what those things really are. Don't give that up for this! Unless you need to get out of dodge or avoid a nasty divorce, et al. then this should not be a choice it should be a bolthole.