Australian pilots can work for US regionals.
So, to be clear, you spoke with XJT HR in KATL about the status of E3s in light of TSA's shutdown ? And they said their appetite for E3s is unaffected ?
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Guys I am trying to find a thread on the 'life in US' / living conditions etc. Can anyone throw some light on this please as the money earned on the regional carriers is minimal, does one have to struggle to make ends meet?
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This question is unanswerable. So much depends on where you want to live, how hard you want to work and what kind of lifestyle you want. I've found cost of living similar to Australia, some things are cheaper, some more expensive. In the 3 years I've been here my salary went from 48K > 62K > 105K USD. If you live in the Midwest it's very comfortable. If you live in LA or San Fransisco it's a struggle.
Food and fuel relatively speaking. Fuel varies massively depending where you live. Health insurance and car insurance is ridiculously expensive compared to Aus. But on the plus side cars are a lot cheaper than Aus. Besides New York and Chicago, public transport over here leaves a lot to be desired. They seem to be mobile homeless shelters in most American cities. GoJet might be a bit of a gamble as there's rumors Compass will shut down this year. TSA has already announced its shutting down operations, so if Compass goes then Trans State Holdings with only have GoJet left. But who can predict the future in this wacky industry.
As MR4051 says, it's almost impossible to give you a good idea on cost of living until you refine the cities you would prefer to live in. San Diego CA vs Las Vegas NV vs Dallas TX ... there are all huge differences just between the 3.
Overall from what I've seen in my time over here, is starting wages in a lot of industries are terrible however loyalty is rewarded and a very comfortable salary can be attained within a few years.
Are you needing to support only yourself, or do you have a big family?
If only yourself or you and a spouse, then renting a room / one bedroom apartment is pretty reasonable in Chicago as an example to start out with.
I actually moved to Chicago mostly because I wouldn't need a car immediately. I still haven't gotten one 2.5 years later, so don't have any of those associated expenses.
I was fine with my wife and I on min pay, but it did include per diem and breaking guarantee every month. Min monthly guarantee will be a bit more of a struggle but not unworkable.
Chicago is a great place to hang out for a few years while you get your feet wet. Sure, it's traditionally expensive, but quite painless and actually quite cheap when you factor out a car.
Chicago would be one of the few cities where travel to and from the airport is 24 hours and relatively cheap.
New York and Jersey is expensive to live if you are within a few miles of major airport. A bit further out and the price drops a lot. This usually means getting a car or paying $10 each way for a train to the airport.
Two people getting by on just your wage is possible even if you only make min guarantee. One piece of advice I will give is start building your credit score ASAP.
New York and Jersey is expensive to live if you are within a few miles of major airport. A bit further out and the price drops a lot. This usually means getting a car or paying $10 each way for a train to the airport.
Two people getting by on just your wage is possible even if you only make min guarantee. One piece of advice I will give is start building your credit score ASAP.
Chicago would be one of the few cities where travel to and from the airport is 24 hours and relatively cheap.
New York and Jersey is expensive to live if you are within a few miles of major airport. A bit further out and the price drops a lot. This usually means getting a car or paying $10 each way for a train to the airport.
Two people getting by on just your wage is possible even if you only make min guarantee. One piece of advice I will give is start building your credit score ASAP.
New York and Jersey is expensive to live if you are within a few miles of major airport. A bit further out and the price drops a lot. This usually means getting a car or paying $10 each way for a train to the airport.
Two people getting by on just your wage is possible even if you only make min guarantee. One piece of advice I will give is start building your credit score ASAP.
For anyone interested, this thread on the Whirlpool (technology/computers) forums has been very valuable over the few years I have been subscribed. Has a lot of generic info regarding the E3, consulate interviews and general living. Its definitely worth a scroll through from the beginning.
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/9mvnjpr3
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Thank you very much for the replies guys. Its great help. Not sure if anyone would know this, but I heard with the advertised bonuses from different companies the bonus gets taxes at 40%!! with GoJet giving 60K bonus it would in reality only equate to 36K...that changes things drastically... Can anyone confirm this? Also I heard there are two different taxex one needs to pay the federal and state tax!! Just wondering with all this the advertised 100k for first year for FO in essence comes down to roughly 55K!
PPSS,
There are several states with no income tax:
https://www.businessinsider.com/stat...income-tax-map
As for federal income tax, you may get some of the initial hit on a large bonus refunded when you file your annual federal return. It's hard to say how much since everyone's situation will be different.
And to add insult to injury, some cities also tax income:
https://www.blog.priortax.com/cities...an-income-tax/
There are several states with no income tax:
https://www.businessinsider.com/stat...income-tax-map
As for federal income tax, you may get some of the initial hit on a large bonus refunded when you file your annual federal return. It's hard to say how much since everyone's situation will be different.
And to add insult to injury, some cities also tax income:
https://www.blog.priortax.com/cities...an-income-tax/
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PPSS,
There are several states with no income tax:
https://www.businessinsider.com/stat...income-tax-map
As for federal income tax, you may get some of the initial hit on a large bonus refunded when you file your annual federal return. It's hard to say how much since everyone's situation will be different.
And to add insult to injury, some cities also tax income:
https://www.blog.priortax.com/cities...an-income-tax/
There are several states with no income tax:
https://www.businessinsider.com/stat...income-tax-map
As for federal income tax, you may get some of the initial hit on a large bonus refunded when you file your annual federal return. It's hard to say how much since everyone's situation will be different.
And to add insult to injury, some cities also tax income:
https://www.blog.priortax.com/cities...an-income-tax/
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Thank you very much for the replies guys. Its great help. Not sure if anyone would know this, but I heard with the advertised bonuses from different companies the bonus gets taxes at 40%!! with GoJet giving 60K bonus it would in reality only equate to 36K...that changes things drastically... Can anyone confirm this? Also I heard there are two different taxex one needs to pay the federal and state tax!! Just wondering with all this the advertised 100k for first year for FO in essence comes down to roughly 55K!
So with that all taken into account you'll get about $55k-$60k in year 1 before tax. When they said $100k that was when the bonus was $85k total and you were getting $60k in the first year, now it's down to $26k in the first year. Also they include things like per diems, hotels, 401k contributions and health insurance in that $100k. Tax rates are a lot lower and I would estimate based on the tax I had to pay last financial year in the US that you would take home about $40-$50k and then MAYBE get some back when you do your tax return in Jan/Feb.
For anyone interested the bonus at ExpressJet, it is now $22.5k - $10k in the first week of training and then $12.5k at the completion of IOE. If you leave in the first 12 months you have to pay 100% back and if you leave in months 13-24 you have to pay back 50%.
CommutAir is $22k bonus, paid I believe in the same way as ExpressJet but I'm not sure on the commitment/pay back rules.
All of these figures are accurate as of this week.
Mate joined Commutair (I think), 50k into the bank......
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Good luck getting $100k in your first year! Base pay is about $35k, maybe get another $3-$4k in per diems and good luck breaking guarantee on reserve at GoJet. The bonuses are not $85k anymore, they are down to about $51k. It's $10k at the end of IOE, $10k 6 months after that and then $6k at the end of year 1, $15k end of year 2 and a final $10k at the end of year 3. If you leave you're on the hook for the bonus you just got.
So with that all taken into account you'll get about $55k-$60k in year 1 before tax. When they said $100k that was when the bonus was $85k total and you were getting $60k in the first year, now it's down to $26k in the first year. Also they include things like per diems, hotels, 401k contributions and health insurance in that $100k. Tax rates are a lot lower and I would estimate based on the tax I had to pay last financial year in the US that you would take home about $40-$50k and then MAYBE get some back when you do your tax return in Jan/Feb.
For anyone interested the bonus at ExpressJet, it is now $22.5k - $10k in the first week of training and then $12.5k at the completion of IOE. If you leave in the first 12 months you have to pay 100% back and if you leave in months 13-24 you have to pay back 50%.
CommutAir is $22k bonus, paid I believe in the same way as ExpressJet but I'm not sure on the commitment/pay back rules.
All of these figures are accurate as of this week.
So with that all taken into account you'll get about $55k-$60k in year 1 before tax. When they said $100k that was when the bonus was $85k total and you were getting $60k in the first year, now it's down to $26k in the first year. Also they include things like per diems, hotels, 401k contributions and health insurance in that $100k. Tax rates are a lot lower and I would estimate based on the tax I had to pay last financial year in the US that you would take home about $40-$50k and then MAYBE get some back when you do your tax return in Jan/Feb.
For anyone interested the bonus at ExpressJet, it is now $22.5k - $10k in the first week of training and then $12.5k at the completion of IOE. If you leave in the first 12 months you have to pay 100% back and if you leave in months 13-24 you have to pay back 50%.
CommutAir is $22k bonus, paid I believe in the same way as ExpressJet but I'm not sure on the commitment/pay back rules.
All of these figures are accurate as of this week.
WOW thats news to me now! On their website I think they changed that 60k to 'March only' now so I think you are right. Well ever subsequent year the earnings will just go down then!!
