Okay, I have read this thread for too long and now I have to jump in. First off, Kimba (shaking my head). Wow. I've been at AMF for longer than I had originally planned on staying and longer than I care to share. I came with a fair amount of turbine experience and much more total time than ATP mins. My resume was lacking in a few areas so I came here to become a better all around pilot and prove to myself I could fly instruments, old school style. To each their own, but the regionals never and WILL never appeal to me so I chose the amf route, as I thought it would fit well with my situation. Hopefully I can clarify a couple of things for people interested:

I'm at a "senior" base. The last 4 or 5 pilots that have transferred in from other bases came in as 99 drivers and all were upgraded to the Metro in less than 6 months. A few of those guys have already moved on to other things. We are shorthanded now and will be in even worse shape in a couple of months. Metro upgrades will be VERY fast for those with the mins. 1900's are a little harder to get since there are half as many, but even those slots are being vacated and will be available quickly. If you're willing to move, you can quickly (probably a year to year and a half, depending on location) achieve that "magic" 1000 Hrs TPIC that everyone is so concerned with.

The TDY pilot is correct. Holding a normal route and with extra flying, I've never made less than 50k as a type rated captain. Become a training captain (nice on the resume), you'll make more. Not going to get rich, but its a decent paycheck, depending on where you live. If you go on the road TDY for the company, the per diem and extra paid days add up and I would expect to make closer to 60k. Granted, you'll be living in hotels for most of the year, but if you want to fly your butt off and build turbine time as well as make WAAAAAY more than a regional FO, its worth looking into. I did it for a bit. It was fun if you're single...

AMF is totally what you make of it. I made it through the financial crisis unscathed, while many a regional pilot came aboard and flew a chieftain until they were called back. I received my ATP for free as well as my first type rating. More importantly, I have a good quality of life. I get to participate in my favorite hobbies during the downtime, pretty much everyday. I've completed my degree during the downtime.

Its not a perfect company, but its not dangerous or scary or illegal. The long days can wear on people and the weather can suck, but the planes, although lacking nice paint(or any for that matter), work well and are maintained well.

I'm looking to move on myself as AMF has peaked for me as far as experience building goes and I would like to continue to progress further in aviation. At this point, I'm still not interested in chasing a 121 seniority number and I'm not willing to take much of a pay cut nor move very far for the next job. I guess by those standards, I'm not in any huge hurry Good luck to everyone and have fun!