Everybody has different perspectives but most often the people with negative experiences are the ones who post most frequently on the forums. I would have never left RAH for PSA or Compass as a 2-3 year FO. With that being said, I would have made more money there if I went there from the beginning but I could not see leaving good QOL to chase an upgrade. If TPIC was a hard requirement to leave the regionals I would have considered a street captain job at TSA, PSA or a quick upgrade at compass 6 months ago but that just isn't the case. AA, DAL, UA, JB, all the LCCs and now even FedEx has lifted their TPIC requirement. Obviously you will be more competitive with TPIC but it's not a must unless you are strictly targeting SW. I never had less than 14 days off the whole time I worked there except for the 3 months I was on reserve. It was a good experience for me and I enjoyed my time working there. I have several FO friends that made these lateral moves and all wished they would have stayed. No regional is anywhere near perfect and each one has a different set of problems but so many people think life will be so much better at the other regional.