Great post Red Eye
Just a couple more things... Commuting with FedEx works better than with most companies. If you're flying SWA, it is most common to fly three or four days a week, for three or four weeks during the month. FedEx has some lines like that, so if you live in MEM your line can be a "normal" airline schedule. But especially if you want to live outside of a major metro area, being able to commute to work only once or twice a month has great advantages. FedEx also has many deadhead parings, where the company will buy a ticket for you to get to/from the location of the revenue flying. There are provisions where they can pay for your ticket to get to work from your home without ever going to your domicile. Last I heard, 60 to 70% of the pilots at FedEx commute. We've even got guys that commute to work from Europe and Asia.
The other biggest difference between FedEx and most carriers: the number of places we fly to. We blanket the world and nearly every state in the country. Variety is the spice of life - and FedEx has variety. Here's just some of today's destinations:
ABE, ABQ, ALA, ALB, ANC, ATL, ATW, AUS, BDL, BFM, BIL, BOI, BOS, BQN, BTR, BUF, BUR, BUR, BWI, CAE, CDG, CDG, CHS, CHS, CID, CLE, CLT, COS, CPR, CVG, DAY, DEL, DEN, DFW, DSM, DTW, DXB, ELP, EVV, EWR, FLL, FNT, FRA, FSD, FWA, GDL, GEG, GFK, GRR, GSO, GSP, GTF, HNL, HRL, HTS, IAD, IAH, ICT, IND, JAX, JFK, KUL, LAS, LAX, LBB, LCK, LFT, LRD, MCI, MCO, MDT, MHT, MIA, MKE, MSN, MSP, MSY, MTY, NAN, NRT, OKC, OMA, ONT, ORD, ORF, PDX, PEN, PHL, PHX, PIA, PIT, PVD, PVG, PWM, RDU, RIC, RNO, ROA, ROC, RST, RSW, SAN, SAT, SAV, SDF, SEA, SFO, SGF, SHV, SJC, SJU, SLC, SMF, SNA, STL, STN, STN, SWF, SYD, SYR, SZX, SZX, TLC, TLH, TPA, TPE, TUL, TUS, TYS, VCP, VLN, YMX, YOW, YWG, YWG, YYC, YYZ, YYZ, YYZ and there's probably more than this list of 139 places... like MEM!
My word of advice: Chase the kind of flying you'd like to do, not the money.