I'm 23 with no college degree, if that helps at all. Yes. I will get my degree. I know that's a must. I am currently looking at/researching a few online universities. My plan is to get the degree online while I fly, whether that's at my current airline or a regional.
And I understand what everyone is saying about a 121 crew environment. I'm not trying to make excuses, but we do operate our Caravans with two pilots. Yes, I know it's single pilot certified, but it is in our OpSpecs for two pilots.
Let me ask this. Maybe as a "compromise" of sorts, do you think I should get 500 PIC at my current operator? I should have about 5-6 months on my contract after I upgrade, so worst case scenario, it would only take an additional month after my contract to get 500 PIC.