I wanted to go back on the pay talks of being on year 2 or greater. I've seen a few people post that they make 50k+ which yes is possible but let's break it down a bit more. I'll use my June and July pay stubs for example since those are higher block hour months. I live in base on the 175 and bid in the top 1/3of our base. I'll round the numbers up just to make it easy. First numbers are pre tax and before tax deductions (401k, insurance) second was take home.

June: $4475 take home $3300
July : $4630 take home $3300

For taxes I file single and reside in IL so depending on your state you may do better than that. Deductions are as follows: Delta Dental $6 a paycheck HSA $10 a paycheck and medical insurance is $32.54 on the value plan. For my 401k I put in somewhere between 5-7% I cant remember. I remember when I started here all I could think about was getting off year one. Captains would tell me you'll make a ton more and they were right but once you're on it it's not much more than you think. I figure I can average about the same year round and if I do that I'll make 55k and after tax and deductions I'll take home about $40k. I guess my whole point is that once you take out all the deductions and taxes there's still not a whole lot left over to live on and I don't have a mortgage or family that relies on my paycheck thankfully.

Edit to add I included per diem in those number.