I have another question, since XJT is probably where I will end up dropping an app...

When one upgrades, do you go back to the bottom of the pay scale? For instance, if you are a 4 year FO and you upgrade, do go back to year 1 pay for CAPT, or are those pay / years based on how long you have been with the company?

Here is some rationale behind that...eventually, because I live in Seattle, I would like to work for Alaska as a Major. Alaska's pay scale starts off at 30/hr for 1 year CAPT, which is about a 70% pay cut from a 5 year FO. Do they really expect you to take that much of a cut? Granted, it almost quadruples in year 2, but still...that's a hell of a drop to upgrade.