I guess if you're always looking for another job, then you are always "paying your dues," like you said. If you've found the place you want to be, then, in my opinion, you're no longer "paying your dues," you're simply doing your job. When I flew cargo in North Dakota, sleeping in the crew lounge, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Ramen noodles, freezing my butt off fueling our own planes at the self-serve tank at 3am in February to save a buck, I consider that paying my dues. Doing more work than what I thought I was being paid for, and the trade-off being the flight time I was building. Gaining the experience I needed to land this job. I don't consider anything I do now at XOJet as paying for anything. The pay is generous, the rules and FAR's are strictly adhered to, and almost everyone I've met here seems really happy to be here.
As for filling out reports on other pilots, I haven't done that myself, but I imagine it's just a tool to keep everyone honest.
With 4500 hours I'd say you are still relatively new in the industry. I applaude your hard work early in your career, but you have not worked in any one job for longer in aviation than 5 years I'd bet. Wait until you have worked for an organization for 18 years or more and been told good bye. I've got friends that are going through that right now. They are well qualified Gulfsteam pilots out there paying your dues again, not of your own free will. Their airplane moved and they were told move at your own expense and uproot your family or hit the street. Their kids are probably as old as you. Your youthful exuberance has not been tested by time and circumstances yet.
And, unless XOJet has raised their pay in the last 3 months it is anything but generous. Adequate, but not generous in a day when condos cost $250,000 and a house costs over $500k around XOJet's home base. Unless you came straight over from the freight job of course or a "frugal" owner operating on a shoe string it might seem generous. But, I digress....
We work in an industry that prefers a college degree, an ATP and jet time. All of which come at a sizable cost to each and every one of us. And yet we take jobs for commuters paying $25000 a year qualifying a family for food stamps. We build our time and refuel airplanes in February for $20 an hour. We fly $20m jets for some of the richest people in our society for peanuts because someone else who is willing to "pay their dues" will do it for less. (Find a lawyer or even an electrician who will do that.)
And here we are, after X number of years with a corporation you are out there paying your dues. As I said before, paying your dues will only open the next door a little wider for you. It will not guarantee you will be able to keep your same pay grade.
This industry isn't like the typical corporate job where you can move up when going to a new company. A Citation X type rating isn't meaningful to a company that operates Westwinds. Someone will still have to pay for your type rating if it's not you. You will have to "pay your dues" again in the form of lower pay or a commitment to the new company. You will not get a transfer to a new company that operates a GV unless you have some special talent they are in need of. Past performance does not help in upgrades around here as it does in the executive world. Your flight time and experience will be the thing that opens the door. It will not guarantees the same pay you had before. All your dues paying has done is opened the door.
So, I'll climb down off my soap box and go back to my job of 20 years that is paying me better than XOJet, but that I would be hard pressed to duplicate even after paying my aviation dues for the last 35 years.
ready2fly 
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