Originally Posted by
dcutting9
Good info. What I highlighted in bold was another question that I had: which you answered. I have been told "why don't you just go reserves and work full time?" That seems like the best of both worlds, in that you won't be relocated every 3, and that you could go part-time more or less whenever you wanted. But, as with most things in life, I assumed that would be an even harder position (maybe lucky) to land.
I made about $3000/mo as a 2Lt "troughing" ("guard bumming" if you're in the guard) before I went to my Airline Job. There is usually enough inactive pay-status days in a month to make that much, even if your unit doesn't have you on full-time orders. Even more if your unit has some kind of alert obligation...this varies based on airframe and location. Remember, as a young Lieutenant out of UPT (Save money in UPT too!), you'll be on orders for quite a while anyways while you get "mission ready." About a year later, you'll probably get another set of long orders (6-12 months) to upgrade. If you're really hurting for cash, do a desert rotation, etc...
Depending on how young you are, $3000/mo may be enough for you to call it a "full time" job...and you'll be making as much as a 3rd year Regional FO.