As Elvis90 stated, "Mid-Month Conversion"--it's your "Shadow Period," which is the time the company projects to complete your training (accurately in some cases, total train wreck in others--largely timing & fleet-specific; sounds like, in your case, they got it done).

That doesn't mean much as a new hire (since you're on salary until OE-complete). If you look closely at your January bid & award, you were "pre-awarded" those Shadow Days; PBS would not (could not) have actually awarded you anything on those days. Take a look at your time cards for both Dec & Jan--you'll show MMC from your sim completion through the end of Dec, then 1 - 2 Jan (if I'm reading you correctly). Any "award" of RES during that period was for pay purposes only (again, doesn't affect you as a new hire, until OE-complete). Once your line (regular or reserve) is built, anything on the Shadow Days goes back into the pot. Compare your time card to your PBS award calendar and you'll see what I mean.

Bottom line, it's a good deal for you, since you're finishing earlier than the end of your Shadow Period. Look at your Dec award (whether you bid for Dec or not, you got an award). Was 31 Dec a RES or X day? Essentially, your salary will run through 30 Dec; whether you get a day's pay for 31 Dec depends on your status that day*. Then, for Jan, you'll get two days' pay for 1 - 2 Jan (you are NOT on RES those days); 3 Jan is your first day of reserve, for a two-day block.

Disclaimer: I'm only going by what I've read of your post; if you have questions about your schedule, your "sources" include Crew Scheduling, your mentor, DALPA Scheds, and/or your CPO.

Welcome aboard!


*AIUI, that pay conversion starts when your LCA enters "OK" on your schedule, meaning you're OE-complete. If 31 Dec is NOT an "X" day, I'd recommend politely asking the LCA to get that done the same day (30th?) you finish the OE trip, thus getting you paid for the 31st. The flip side to that is, you may be on call on the 31st! However, you'd be essentially unusable: as your first day of a one-day on-call (remember, you are not on RES on 1 - 2 Jan, your [former] Shadow Days), you can't be called until 1200 (depending on when your "OK" gets entered; I'm assuming it won't happen in time to get something on there by 1500 on the 30th, which would make 1000 the earliest), and if you're not called by 1200, you're released. Anything they do manage to schedule you for has to block in by 2330. Short Call is your greatest threat, but I don't think even that's terribly likely due to the (low) usability you represent. Ideally, you have 1 Jan as a Golden Day, which would mean they couldn't tag you for anything violating the 2330 release, too.... If you don't want to deal with any of that, get the LCA to carefully consider your qualifications overnight before putting in your "OK" at lunch time on the 31st....