For selfish reasons I'd advise you to go to the AS job and then quit in the middle of class. March in to the CP's office and make a huge stink about how F'd up the company is and throw up on his desk. That's what I'd like to see.

But seriously, AS will probably get a big raise in a few years. The shortage of pilots globally will affect everyone and raise the bar. The flying is interesting. I'd rather see volcanoes and glaciers out my window than Philly and the Blue Ridge "mountains." Upgrade time will depend on our contract and age 65. I would think about 7 years if you are willing to move to the junior base. (LAX and ANC at the moment). We fly new aircraft and are expanding our route structure. The biggest problem I see is that we don't fly the large aircraft so you will never make the big bucks a 777 driver makes. (You won't fly 12 hours either)

Good luck.