Originally Posted by
TangoBar
The main problem with OAK is cost of living- it's not easy to live in the Bay Area on $30k if you don't already have a place. It's not the ACP- from my experience, he's a pretty good guy. Weatherwise, it's no worse than up north, and often not as bad. The other main downside to OAK is slow upgrade time- I know there's not much in the way of 99 runs, and what few there are stay senior. However, it's possible to overcome this by bidding on outstations at other bases...
And some people DEFINITELY make more than $28k a year- there are several runs that pay more than 8 units per day. It's a matter of being able to bid them/having the will to fly long runs day after day.
The AMF pay matrix shows first year PA31/BE99 driver at $28,000/yr. I put this down because this is what most pilots will make. There are always possibilities to make more. But, I did not want to post any higher salaries so as to give a false impression of every day flying.
The OAK base always needs pilots. Just like TangoBar stated that if you don't already live there and have a place or a significant other with a secondary income, it can be tough. TangoBar makes another good point about upgrade times. OAK just doesn't have the turbine runs that the other bases have. Mather (MHR) is an outstation with only four (4) 99 runs I believe and there are pilots who have been waiting in Oakland a year from an upgrade. If you have a family then you might just want to "dig in" and wait out an upgrade time. Since PA31 and 99 drivers are on the same pay scale now, there is no need to upgrade because of pay, except for the turbine retention bonus. If you are single or can pick up and move easily then I might recommend hanging out in Oakland for 6-9 months then put in a bid for another base that has only turbine equipment.