Originally Posted by
trip
Keep your day job. Go to a flight school and get a private/instrument>15K. Buy a small plane >15-20K. Fly the pizz out of it to get 250>10-15K. Go back to flight school and get a commercial CFI. Sell the Plane >+15K. Instruct full or part time. Go to airline of your choice in less then five years and no 125K debt.
Worked for me. Bought a Piper Colt at 16 and then started getting into various partnerships, fix 'r uppers and flips through the multi-inst., commercial. Actually made money by the time the airplane flips offset the training cost.
The general aviation market is doing OK right now. Plenty of opportunities to find unloved airplanes, make them nice and sell them at retail. Easier to do than buying & selling cars or real estate. The folks you meet will be friends for life and make a solid network.
IMHO this program isn't terrible, but it is not a good value for the "benefit" of skipping an interview. If you have a lot of cash and just want to build time you could always volunteer for Angelflight, a relief or missionary organization and write off the donation. I used to do some of that flying in my Bonanza. It was rewarding on a personal level and a plus in my subsequent airline interviews.
JetBlue may find itself as a "stepping stone" ... it is a good airline, but not the kind of airline career some seek.