Originally Posted by gringo

I had LASIK done about 7 years ago. Went from 20/400 to 20/20 instantly, and it hasn't changed since. I wish I had it done sooner.

If your goal is to fly for the airlines, the advice I'm going to give is going to vary from the other advice (all of it good).

If I had to do it all over again, I would use a program like AllATP's and get it done. When I got my ATP, I used their course. I was amazed at how much quality (multi-engine) time my instructor had racked up in such a short amount of time. Basically, it took him maybe a year to accrue the flight time it took me 3-4 years, working on my own through Part 61 schools and as a CFI, and I never got as much multi-time (piston) as he did. Plus, he had professional networking opportunities I never had simply working as a CFI. I forget which regionals he had guaranteed interviews at, but it certainly made life that much easier for him.

The reality of the matter is, if you want to fly for a living with the airlines, you've just entered a race, one against time, other pilots, and yourself. The airlines are starting to hire, and the wave is coming. The sooner you can get on that wave the better your career will be. Delta at 33? Or United? American? Not only possible, but likely.

Staying out of debt is important. But the fact remains that if you want to move fast, you're going to have to use debt to your advantage. Only you can decide how much debt is too much.

If I had a chance to do it all over again, that's the way I would go.