Originally Posted by LakeshoreFlyer

The last upgrade class had four open positions in DEN so it was the junior person was I think about 10 years. Look just a few pages back and someone posted the number of pilots who have bypassed (I think it's somewhere around 100). If F9 opens a west coastish base next year (LAS or PHX) you'll probably see a lot of those bypasses taking the upgrade whereas commuting to ORD or MCO they wouldn't.

I can only speak for my individual case, but on reserve in ORD you can plan on taking home a sub-2k paycheck (per month) your first year. And right now reserve in ORD is more than a year. I think you'll fly a little more in DEN and work for less than $2/hr (duty) for your time. A little per-diem goes a long way at this pay level.

If you're prepared to endure the first year things will get better. I know I'll get some pushback for this, but here it goes: a lot of people here think we are in our dark days and are optimistic that better things are ahead. I don't think coming here is a slam-dunk either way as you really have to boil it down to your own individual situation.