Originally Posted by rickair7777

1) Regionals are stepping stones at best, and the pilots are paid and treated like dues payers in any industry...ie abused. This is the fact despite our desires and efforts to improve things.

2) Without a college degree your chances of getting a major airline job (especially at a good major) are 0.000001%.

3) In the event of furlough, your employment prospects without a degree are poor (starbucks).

If you don't get the degree the best you can hope for is a blue-collar career flying RJ's and living in perpetual fear of your company losing it's contract (AWAC, XJet) or getting sold (AE, ASA).

At your age you have plenty of time... the industry has historically gone in cycles, if it goes south in the near future it will probably come back by the time you're ready anyway. If it goes south and stays there (spiraling oil prices) I can guarantee that you will not want to have ANYTHING to do with it.

I'm not even kidding, get the degree and try to make it in something marketable outside of aviation (aero engineering would be OK). You can probably get the instructor while in college and maybe build some more time before you graduate.

Also unless you're a real rock-star pilot (other than in your own mind) you stand a real risk of failing 121 training with your low experience...the you would have a permamnent scar on your record. Only you can evaluate the risk here based on an honest self-assessment of your abilities.