It depends on what type of flying you want to do. If renting a Cessna on the weekends will quench your thirst for flying, and you make good money, do that. You have to be careful with the regionals. It's good if you live in base, get in when there is lot's of movement. If you have to commute, then hopefully you don't have a family, or are not financially dependent on your regional salary, as the commute will take away from both in the form of time and a crash pad. The regionals have a way of sucking the passion out of you if you get in at the wrong time. That being said, there are some good opportunities right now.Once you get some turbine time, there are opportunities outside the regionals as well.
As for leaving flying for something that pays more, it kind of depends.
If I'm flying making less than 50K and gone all the time, and I get a non flying job that pays like 80K, I'll probably take the nnon-flying job. But if I'm at a flying job making 80K with a good schedule, and a non-flying job ,making 120K comes along, I'll probably just manage my finances and and stick with the 80K. Keep in mind I have a family, so the decision might be a little different for a single 23 year old for example.