Originally Posted by
simscott
Crazy that starting fire fighter pay in Texas is mid $50’s, for 6 months of training. Yet a few years, numerous check rides and a $70k debt later you’re lucky to get a $45k a year regional job.
The sign on bonus may be a thing of the past but if they eliminate it they will discourage many career changer that just can’t afford the pay cut. And let’s be honest, during the last few good years the majority of new hires were career changers 35-50 year olds.
If you are chasing bonuses to choose a Regional you are probably making poor decisions to begin with. They were only there to mask poor pay/working conditions so they could still attract applicants. Pilot unions absolutely hated them because as long as they kept attracting suckers (oops, mean FOs) there was no reason for the regional to improve the contract.
Pre-covid I always told people who asked the key was to look at year 3 CA pay, because almost everywhere you can upgrade by then and that is when the money starts rolling in. Any bonus you may have missed out on was quickly erased. Endever and Republic were the best for those. Now my advice is to take whatever job you can get first, and thank your lucky stars you actually got a job offer in this environment. If you are still holding out for a bonus you are in for a real attitude adjustment.