Based on the fact that you live in NJ, I donīt think Mesa should be your first choice. As a Mesa pilot I have seen that the main reasons people come here are the following:

1-They live in base - With all the recent growth one can get "some" seniority fairly quick. Not having to commute and a decent schedule are tough to beat.

2-They had the 121 time required to upgrade - Some people are upgrading on the CRJ in less than 6 months. However, knowing how unstable this industry is (and particularly Mesa) I think coming here in hopes of a quick upgrade alone is a very risky move. If you donīt have prior 121 time, donīt even consider the quick updrage as one of your reasons to come here.

3-They could not get hired anywhere else - With the phone interview getting hired here is considerably easier than at other regionals (I have interviewed, and gotten offers, at other regionals).

Those are the only pros I can think of. The cons list easily outweighs it, to name a few: Pay here is considerably lower than that at other regionals. The company is dirty cheap (you pay for your iPad and Known Crew Member, the company gives you a small incentive if you cancel your hotel room in an overnight...). Subpart hotels compared to other regionals (I have been at another regional before), Tons of operational hiccups (maybe due to the rapid expansion), etc...

Donīt get me wrong, live at Mesa is possible and I donīt hate going to work every day, it is what you make out of it anyway. But you have a lot of good companies in your backyard that can easily offer you a lot more than Mesa ever would, including a short reserve period, think about it.