Did a quick pros/cons & napkin math between OO, EDV, and RPA. This is for my personal situation at least. Of course, upgrade times and things like that are moving targets. Please correct me if I'm wrong here:
Republic:
Year 1 55k - (45k + 10k bonus)
Year 2 55k - (50k + 5k bonus)
Year 3 54k - (51k + 3k bonus)
Total to date 164k
Year 4 96k (upgrade to captain)
New total to date 260k
Pros: Shiny Jet. Good schedules and contract. No ready reserve. No Junior Manning. Morale seems high. Pay is good. 2020 Captain pay is great if I ended up getting stuck there.
Cons: I'd have to live in Columbus Ohio to avoid commuting. To avoid commuting, I'd also need to defer upgrade until CMH CA slot opens (~3 years). I'd need to be at CMH for ~ 5 years as a CA to hold a line.
Skywest:
Year 1 40k
Year 2 42k
Year 3 82k (upgrade to Captain)
Total to date: 164k
Year 4 85k
New total to date: 249k
Pros: I'd be able to build PIC time faster at OO, hold a better schedule at DTW sooner, and not have to sit reserve. I also wouldn't have to sit at NYC.
Cons: Initial pay sucks. SkyWest seems to be reluctant to improve contracts. Morale seems low.
Endeavor:
Year 1 60k - (50k + 10k bonus)
Year 2 60k
Year 3 62k
Total to date 182k
Year 4 100k (upgrade to captain, using their 2020 CA pay rates on the 900)
New total to date 282k
Pros: Pay is obviously way better. DGI. People there seem very happy. Morale is high.
Cons: I'd have to commute to NYC for ~ 3 months out of training before I could hold DTW. I would likely choose not to upgrade to CA until I could hold dtw (~3 years). I'd have to sit reserve as a CA in DTW for a year or two after upgrading. I'd have to wait ~5 years to hold a line as a CA in DTW.