I'll give you an idea of what life is like for an LCC guy. This particular LCC doesn't offer commutable pairings. They have either "AM" pairings or "PM" pairings. Which means that with very few exceptions, you would most likely commute to your domicile the day before your trip begins, or commute home the day after your trip ends. Either way you'll be giving up part of a day off to get into position or to get home. I have to emphasize that every other airline in my experience will build some percentage of commutable trips - i/e trips that allow pilots to commute in the morning of day 1 and commute home on the afternoon/evening of day 3 or 4. I am incredulous as to why this particular airline doesn't have that as an option for its commuters.
90% of our trips are 3 days. I always felt less stressed commuting in on the day prior. Since I was commuting off-line (on another airline) I was required to give myself at least two flights to get into position. That meant that I could usually pick my child up from school, drive him home, then put on a uniform and head to the airport. Most of the time I was fortunate to get on the first flight, but occasionally ended up spending half a day getting into base -- often utilizing imaginative routings on various planes, trains, and automobiles. In Chicago, for example, I might commute into one airport and then take the train to the other.
When I started i would stay in hotels during my commutes. That gets pretty expensive though, especially when you are on reserve and aren't used for a few days. Futhermore if there is a winter storm, hotel rooms can be few and far between. It isn't unusual to see pilots sleeping in the crew lounge. After a while I moved into a "crash pad". This was a 3 bedroom house near the airport. It had two girls bedrooms, one boys bedroom, and two bathrooms. Our boys bedroom had 4 bunkbeds for a theoretical maximum occupancy of 8. It had a tv and a small fridge. I kept linens, a small lamp, and a fan clipped onto my bunk. Bottom bunks are better. The main floor had a big screen tv, some furniture, ironing boards, and kitchen. I always showered at night because forget about getting near the bathroom in the morning with up to 16 women fighting over it.
We are required to get to the airport an hour prior to departure, but I would always shoot for an extra half hour to make sure that I didn't hit any speed bumps going through security or getting to the crew lounge. The extra time is nice in the morning. Not to be crass, but at an airline known for quick turns and long days, a little time for a morning visit to a full sized bathroom is time well spent. Your day is just better when you start out with a good #2.
I check in on the computer and print out a trip sheet, check my mailbox. That used to be a bigger deal before the iPad EFB. It wasn't unusual to have stacks of manual revisions. Now though the mailbox is almost always empty. I log on to the wifi with my EFB and tap "update" and it brings all of my charts and manuals into compliance in a matter of seconds. I might take a glance around to see if I recognize the captain i'm flying with. But if there are more than a handful of 4 stripers down there, forget it. I go upstairs to the gate where I wait for a gate agent to let me down to the airplane. Meanwhile, non-english speaking wheelchair pushers are free to go down any jetway in the airport without chaperone. I guess they're more highly vetted than we are.
The gate agent checks to see that my ID matches the release and lets me down to the airplane. I usually run the power on flow first, and then "build my nest" while the IRSs are aligning. I attach my EFB to the mount and position it the way I like it. Then I hook up my headsets. I grab a trash-bag for the cockpit and a few cans of water. Yes. Cans. (sigh) If I don't know the jetway door code I either ask the agent or look it up, then head outside with my flashlight to do the walkaround. 90% of the time i'm able to check all of the lights with the exception of the nav lights from the cockpit. That saves me from having to blind half the ramp with strobes and landing lights while I preflight the airplane. By the time I get back up top usually the flight attendants are there already complaining that it is either too hot, too cold, or that the lav needs to be dumped. I introduce myself and then cater to their every other whim. That ensures that when we need to go potty later they will respond expeditiously.
Then I sit down and run through my portion of the cockpit setup. This includes loading the FMS and performance calculator, setting up the radios, drawing single engine turn procedures, etc while the captain looks at new boats on eBay on his EFB. We make our introductions and the Captain gives me his briefing. If he is using a "call sign" instead of the name his Mom gave him, I mentally prepare myself for an exhausting trip. We usually exchange a few pleasantries. "Where do you live? Married? Kids? Where did you fly before this?" Topics to avoid in the cockpit unless you want to ratchet up the tension: Religion, politics. If this is your first airline, don't preach about airline history to the guy who is on his 6th or 7th airline. If you do, I reserve the right to ask you if the "Viper" is a turboprop freighter.
Meanwhile, the pax are all boarding up. Once we are set up and briefed for the first leg this is the chance to grab some coffee and use the lav one last time. We typically fly two to five legs each day with 30-45 minutes between legs. Rarely do we have more than an hour on the ground. After passing around 18,000 feet the pace slows way... WAAAAAY down. It is a lot like watching paint dry. Or watching the demo that you see on Pac Man all day long because you ran out of quarters. The airplane follows the magenta line. The 737 has a notoriously awful VNAV system, so descents require at least a little bit of attention. Approaches and landings are still fun.
Between flights the Captains disappear to what I can only presume is a secret underground Captain lair with gold plated toilets and free steak sandwiches. Many times they will return about 5 minutes prior to push. You will, naturally, have everything ready to go for the next leg so that he can sit down and say "before start checklist."
While you're on probation you will starve, eat peanuts, or scrounge for granola bars from your feed bag. After probation, depending on your temperament, you might say, "everything's ready to go. I'm gonna go hit the head and grab a bite to eat." He will either throw a temper tantrum or do nothing at all depending upon what kind of Captain he is.You won't care either way. Most of the time I don't need to eat, but if they don't even offer the opportunity to stretch than I'm going to take it. You can't allow yourself to be chained to the airplane all day. Its not healthy.
Our airline doesn't have long/short overnight language so at the end of the day we typically go to a hotel located immediately adjacent to the end of the runway. Sometimes it is near an office park or a landfill. It always has a restaurant and bar. The culture at this company is such that, much like ground-hogs the pilots may peek outside of the hotel door, but then they're likely to scurry back to the relative safety of the hotel restaurant with its nondescript club sandwich, quesadilla, and $1 Bud light. I tend to venture out if there is anything at all within walking distance. Usually there isn't. If I get into the hotel before 4pm, I might hit the gym or take a walk in the fresh air. After 4pm? Dinner, shower, bed.
Day 2-3 are like groundhog day. If its a 4 day trip you begin to wonder if your dog will remember you or if he will bark when you finally get home in what seems like a month. When I finally get back on the last day, the first order of business is to get the heck off of the airplane and run up the jetway and disappear into the crowd before scheduling can find you and junior-assign you into additional flying. Once I made my escape i'd hop the train back to my commuter airport and beg for a ride from another airline to get me back home anywhere from 3-8 hours later. I'd dump my suitcase into the laundry basket and begin crafting angry letters to my high school guidance counselor.
Bottom line. This job will take everything that you love about flying and grind it out of you over the course of several decades... but the pay is good and the scheduling flexibility isnt too bad once you have a little seniority.
Since our trips are so densely packed (they are rigged at 6.5 per day, so a 3 day trip pays 19.5) we are able to cram all of our flying into fewer days. That means that even our most junior reserve gets 14-15 days off per month. Lineholders get anywhere from 16-19 days off depending upon the month. At this airline a "day off" is defined as a day when you sit in front of your computer looking for additional flying at time and a half because pilots are powered by greed. I shoot for 100 credit per month. My best month was 156 credit.
Best of luck with your new career.