Thought I'd chime in as an extreme newbie.

I'm just finishing up OE at Pinnacle, and all I can say to those who get to skip the CFI step is that I'm jealous. I gained a lot of valuable experience as a CFI, and even had some fun along the way. I never wanted to do it to begin with though. If I had the opportunity to go immediately to the regionals, I certainly would have.

As far as QOL @ the regionals, maybe I'm not 'old' enough to speak up...but I will anyway. It has always been, and will always be management's job to try and pay as little as possible...while it has always been and will always be labor's job to try to get paid as much as possible. It all comes down to the strength of your position when it comes time to negotiate a contract. If there's aways a pool of pilots who suffer from some degree of SJS, mgmt will always be able to pay peanuts. I won't exclude myself from the ranks of the SJS folk. I know it is looked down upon to the extreme, but why else would people actually work for companies that pay what the regionals do...most of us are trading QOL for QOT (quality of TIME). I almost feel dirty for typing it, but it is the truth as I see it.