Originally Posted by
9999
Would any of the current CS pilots be able to tell me what I would be able to expect for first year annual pay? I realize your contract states 1st year FO pay is 40k but with the soft pay included, what would be an accurate conservative estimate as to that first year FO pay?
Thanks in advance to all who reply.
If by soft pay you mean per diem, fuel points, 401k matching, and forced overtime, I can give you an estimate. The amount of per diem you take home, if any, just depends how frugal you are. We get $2.30 an hour which equates to $55.20 a day. $5.20 of that goes to taxes. The 401k matching is 100% of the first 6%. So if you put the full amount in, you can earn an extra $2,400 that you won't see for a while (you can put a little more in if you work overtime). Fuel points are also very subjective. You could get $100 one week and none the next. The company just came out with a new policy that makes it a little easier to get paid overtime on day seven ($330 a day for first year FOs). Some people get it a lot, and some don't.
So let's say you contribute the full amount to the 401k, save $150 in per diem every trip, get $50 in fuel points every trip, and are forced to work overtime 11 times a year. Your take home pay after taxes (assuming you had two weeks of vacation) would be approximately $44,400. Like I said, $2,400 of that would be in a retirement account. This also does not account for health care (which is going up next year) or gas/tolls/parking to get to your domicile.