get a room for a couple nights of your 7 days hitch

I can only speak for my time as a relief pilot for the Colorado based company. Spent 2 years as a Regional Relief.  I will start with the good first

Pro- You get paid to travel to the base you support. Company provides rental car and hotel during your shift. Also, my company paid meal per deim.  I got paid a minimum of 14 days per month, even if I worked less. Over 14 days of work, I got paid the actual amount of days work. I had a lot of control over my schedule, and I usually built my own schedule for the month. However, that's not the case these days.

Con- No overtime until i met the 2190 hour worked during the calendar year. Usually happened around November. If you work for a company that controls your schedule, you might not work 7 on/7 off. There we times I worked 3 on/ 7 off. I also worked 22 days straight without a day off. And every variety of schedule in between. Travel days to the base and home are added to that. 7/7 schedule is actually a 9/5 with travel. Going to a new base is fun. No knowledge of the local area/ hospitals/airspac. Very quick learning curve. 

I'm sure there's more. The job is not for everyone but I enjoyed it and would do it again if need be. Good luck.

I  think being a relief pilot is the hidden gem if you aren't working from home. A couple things to consider from my own experience - for what it's worth to you.

• If you relly on OT, Relief's  usually have to complete annual hours but after that everything is OT.
• Do a bit of research on which bases have which needs- I used to take a base with longer term needs so I wasn't all over the place at the whim of others e.g. pilot short.
• Manage your availability to your preferences which means get out in front of your own schedule so your regional doesn't start assigning you to every short term need at short term notice.
• Do your fair share as if it was your base.
• Support your primary area first to build  trust and comfort for you too for your flying area, aircraft maintenance and crews.
• Be current on two types if possible for flexibility.
• Try to stay in  the same hotels so you build a relationship for room preferences and bookings; they understand when you have to sleep during the day etc. I used to look for hotels that had some kind of bistro restaurant for sit down reasonable meal choices. picking up a brown bag every day will get old fast.
• Dont expect every week to be your perfect routine. Aircraft ferry's and maintenance checks will feature in from tme to time. See the glass as half full and recognize that you wanted the job with some nbord perks, but a few demands as well.
• Try to get a permanent rental - when i say that you don't want to be in and out of a vehicle every day. I didn't need a vehicle for 4 years and usually the rental company was calling me to get it back for mileage and resale.

I know a couple reliefs that were skeptical but once on board never looked back - Good luck.

you guys really did your homework to settle in as relief pilots.  Would be worthwhile sharing your approach to the job with your companies cuz it is not generally considered a preferred choice.  Could do some good.

I thoroughly appreciate everyones answers on this thread. Does anyone know current total compensation for these travel position? Currently looking at this position and during the interview they only state base pay. Just looking for a ballpark. Thanks.

a copy of the Union CBA and barter for better.  There is latitude, depends on how much you have to offer as well as how much they want your talents.  Squeeze as hard as possible.