FO Monthly Salary
Basic: AED17,000
Housing: AED 12,600
Transport: 2,000
Flight Pay: AED125 / block hour (actual time, not scheduled)
If you fly 80hrs (and that's a quiet month these days) it works out to around AED41,600. Obviously less if you take annual leave.
Rosters . . .
Can be great for a few at the top of the seniority list, but increasingly grim the more junior you get. Bottom line is we are very short of crew, more people are leaving all the time, and rostering are trying to cover an ever increasing flying programme with an inadequate number of pilots. And that's putting it politely. Expect to do much / most of your flying at night, with plenty of 20hr rest periods and flipping from nights to early starts. Fatigue reports increasing by the month, but hey - "It's legal Captain" so obviously there's no problem. Rosters are the biggest single reason why so many people are leaving.
Work Environment
Assuming you survive the journey to work, and manage to get parked, and remember to NOT take your cup of coffee through security, you'll be ready for a sit-down. The good news is that once the doors close and the mobiles are off, it's usually a pretty good day out (or night). Most colleagues are great; professional operators with a good handle on CRM. Naturally there are some exceptions to the rule, but every company has them. Shiny new aircraft - normally you jump in, turn the key and they work. If you're reasonably competent / standard and can resist making "500' stable" a target rather than a limit, you'll be fine.
Upgrades
Young, growing airline, plenty of movement, chance of command within a couple of years of joining - in theory it's the best gig in town. In theory. In reality it's a bit of a lottery. You'll need 'good' scores in two consecutive sims, and some of the judging criteria is pretty subjective, so much depends on who you get as a trainer. Some very competent FOs - with previous command experience - have been held back for pretty dubious reasons. More than a few FOs have paid to buy out their bond and leave, rather than hang on for command. That tells you a story.
P.S. I wouldn't worry about the sunscreen. Eye shades and ear plugs would be more useful out here.
