You dispute my numbers but don't bother to crack the CBA or do some basic math.... so here you go: I'll use your year three numbers for our current pay scale.
757C commuter on reserve every month. Works max days each month (yes, I consider sitting in a crash pad on reserve work). He gets paid about 940CH per year while working 196 days per year.
$223,175
Even though we're not quite there yet, I'll be generous and throw in a 9% B-fund contribution ($20,100) for a grand total of $243,275.
That works out to $1241 per day.
777F commuter holding a line with no carryover - 1040 CH per year (i.e. Me when I made this spread sheet). That's done working 2-3 days less each month for a total days worked per year of 168. (So, we're talking 28 days per year less work than the guy on reserve. That's basically 2 months of work days less). I'll factor in the $8/hour int'l override we get on almost every hour and the B-fund as well.
Total - $205,386
That works out to $1223 per day.
So, for an extra $18 per day, a 3rd year 777 FO can be a 757 Captain.
If the 777F can hold and work 3 days of carryover each month then the pay disparity is gone. They work the same number of days per year (within 6) for the same annual pay-check doing very, very different jobs.
Crunch the same numbers for 15 year+ pilots at the max pay rates and you can make a very similar argument regarding a commuter WB domestic reserve Captain vs 777 FO.
Obviously living in domicile is a completely different situation. Some folks don't want the long haul life-style, others can hold their home town, I get it. There are lots of reasons folks choose what they choose and I'm not trying to cast stones. Salty asked and I tried to offer one possible answer.
My take-away when I did my research was being a WB Captain on reserve as a commuter just isn't worth the huge drop on QOL for what amounts to a very small increase in pay per day worked (for me, in my situation). NB Captain isn't even in the ball park. If I'm willing to work the same number of days as I would be working on reserve while still in the right seat of the 777, then I can make similar money to a reserve WB Captain. I need to be a solid line holder in the left seat to start seeing a true pay benefit (and that's still going to be a QOL drop most likely).