Originally Posted by
JustAsking
Thanks to everyone, the information and advice has been very helpful and I have follow up conversations scheduled with Expressjet, PSA, and Envoy.
One question I still have, is what does it really mean to be the last guy in class who gets assigned as an FO to the 145 at ORD? (that seems to be where the last picks go)
How long is reserve, do reserve pilots get any flying time, is it worth bidding out of ORD if that just lenghtens your time on reserve?
Reserve in Chicago is currently between 1 and 1.5 years from date of hire, although this number should decrease some amount in the summer as the number of lines increases with summer traffic.
How much does it cost to live in ORD?
This varies with the area you move into, just like any other city. In my experience, considering 1 roommate, your range is 600-1200$/mo. You can score better deals with 3+ roommates, and going solo will place you in the 1000$+ area for rooms in the city near the Blue Line, the easiest rail commute you can get to ORD.
Basically, other than everyone saying "it sucks", what does it actually mean, day to day?
Your first month (or two) will have you doing a mix of airport standby (8 hours physically at the airport) and 14 hour RAPs with a 2 hour callout. The most junior pilots can expect to be flown multiple times a week. As you gain seniority, say 4-6 months in, you'll no longer be so junior that you'll get regularly called, but you'll still be stuck with a choice of 4AM RAP, or 10AM RAP.
Reserve can be good, if you like to not work and can afford living on a reserve FO paycheck ($1.9k-2.3k take home cash). If you're looking for hours for a quick upgrade, you'll be SoL. Overtime is scarce for ORD 145 FOs.