That is by personal choice. If you want to, I am sure you could easily hold 737 captain, if not higher. $140,$150k pretty easily.

Even if you were at an airline like US Air where you could be there for 17 years and not hold captain, you would still be making more money than any regional captain. And irregardless of money, you have a much better schedule, much better QOL, and much better stability at a major versus a regional airline.

I agree that since a major airline will not hire you without a college degree, your career will likely end at a regional making 90k without a degree. If you go to a major airline for all those years, you will top out much higher making much more money at a major (need a college degree for that). Even if you top out at less than 200k, that money still adds up over 30 years!!!!