Originally Posted by 80ktsClamp

Well said, kfahmi.

Being 33 years old and having spent the last 7+ years at a legacy, I've had a pretty good run in the airlines, and it's good to set targets from early on. I went for the building block approach, and honed in on the next step once reaching the previous step, being mindful of the end game. e.g. I got my initial licenses, looking for a good place to get my hours (expecting it to take at least 1500+ hours to get on with a regional)... once I got my CFI job, I sharpened my understanding of the regional picture at the time and figured out where i was going to focus my networking for that... and so on.

Things to consider:

1. Live in base, if at all possible. Your life and ability to pick up time is drastically easier.
2. I'm going to get crap for this, but when given a choice between a QOL regional with a long upgrade and a regional with a much shorter upgrade and growth... always always always go to the one with the shorter upgrade and growth (within reason, of course- I'm not saying scab or go to some super seedy operation). For example, I believe the guys going to TSA right now are making a very good move. I went to Pinnacle back in 2003 vs guys that went to comair and others for the QOL. I made captain in a year, and as such made it to a legacy in 3 years. Let's compare overall QOL and earnings with one who took a QOL regional.... The difference in QOL between a junky regional and a good regional is not much. The difference between the best regional and the crappiest legacy job is significantly weighted to the legacy side. Big picture!

Times change, but don't take some moralistic stance between the difference of 25,000 and 30,000 dollars as a regional FO. Look to the end game...and that game is getting to a career carrier.

The regional bubble is in the process of bursting, so things are really in flux right now...even moreso than usual. Keep your options open and flexible, and first and foremost strive to be the utmost professional and highly proficient pilot that you can be. Don't forget to include with that how you deal with those that you work with.

Despite what others have said on here as far as jobs available... literally everyone from my newhire class at my regional back in 2003 has "had" a chance to move on... not necessarily to a legacy or big time carrier as not everyone is material for that, but they have virtually all had the chance to go to a higher paying career gig.