I'm 43, and got hired at a legacy last year. I'll be here for at least 22 years assuming no change in retirement age, my health, etc. I will have the option--the option, not the obligation--to upgrade here. A lifer FO will still make several times what the median income is, and more than twice what I was making as a regional captain. I figure I will be able to hold a captain bid here (on reserve in the junior domicile) after 7 years, in any domicile on a narrow-body after 12, and as a lineholder somewhere for at least the last 10-15 years of my career. Even from one major to another, walking after one year is no big deal.

If he wants to go to a legacy carrier and can get hired, I'd say more power to him.