Originally Posted by Stitches

This reminds me of nearly every CSI episode where the investigators always caution each other to follow the evidence and not their hunches, otherwise they will inevitably only see the evidence that justifies their hunch.

You don't need to justify your decision to me or anyone else. But when I have a decision I'm facing I like to find someone older and more experienced, present them my options, ask the question(s), and then be quiet and LISTEN.

As far as getting to a major via an internship I believe your logic is flawed. Getting hired by a major requires meeting a number of different criteria not least of which are timing/luck, networking/recs, and strong qualfications. Meeting the mins and being a former intern won't overcome negative aspects of the others.

From your stated career goals and they way you want to learn let me be the second to recommend the military. It has all the positive aspects (and more) of ERAU as far as the training program structure. It is a much better VALUE and you'll get a ton of experience that will help you in and beyond your flying career. There are some cons but i don't doubt for a second that with your smarts and determination you couldn't make it through. You don't need to be a gung-ho type guy to succeed either.

Interesting fact: in 2010 when Delta hired last time, about 15 guys from my traning wing had applications in. ALL OF THEM got interview invites. A couple didn't go but of the ones who went, only 2 didn't make it. The rest are now flying for a major, have no training debt, and they ALL bypassed the regionals.

(I know there are great guys who didn't go the miltary route who got great training, please don't take this down the mil vs. civ road. Just pointing out the bennies to the mil side.)