Are you going to retire from the Coast Guard with a pension? I read all the posts on this site about get in and get out ASAP and that was my original plan. After a couple years at SkyWest though I really enjoy it. I was a helo pilot as well. If you are going to have a military pension or your wife wants to work, you have a lot more options you can consider.
First, EMS is going to be much more rewarding. There’s a self esteem aspect to saving someone’s life that just isn’t there in the 121 world. Additionally, having flown both extensively, flying a helo is a lot more fun and exciting than flying a fixed wing. The offset is that EMS is also much more dangerous and you’ll put your kids at much higher risk of growing up without a father. Also, most EMS jobs are 12 hour shifts for those 7 days and then shift you to the other side of the clock for the other half of the month. This is extremely difficult on your body and tends to give you health problems and can make you perpetually irritable and unhappy. I don’t have personal experience as I was warned away, but I do know several guys now at OO who hated that aspect and had to quit and ended up here. Also, the pay kind of caps out and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of upward mobility in EMS, but that will depend on the hospital you work for I’m sure, and will vary.
At OO right now, both DEN and COS are pretty junior on the FO side. If QOL is what’s important to you, and that $65-$80k per year is enough, you can get COS and maybe even DEN right out of training, have a line in a month or two in Springs, and be bidding 25% in 2 years as an FO on the CRJ making $65k+ just flying your line.
I really can’t complain about my QOL. Airlines fly every day and we have to fill our seats, so you can’t make CA pay while getting 18 days off a month including every weekend and be home every evening by 1700 from the get go. You have to flex somewhere. I choose to bid for trips that are nice easy days to enjoyable overnights and that allow me to sleep the same 9 hours every night. And I give up only getting one weekend off per month and sometimes only getting 11 days off total (at home), and get paid FO pay. Some guys prefer to bid really long days that end at 2400 for a few days, get a day off then start at 0500, and don’t care where they overnight in exchange for more days completely off at home. Some guys upgrade as fast as they can and give up QOL for more money and what they hope will be a faster move to a major. There’s no one right answer for everyone, but it won’t take very long and you’ll start getting to pick what’s most important to you. Also, and it’s unusual among bases, but I’ve actually had success dropping and/or trading away trips in COS.
I will caution you that the flying that you’ll do in any 121 operation will pale in comparison to what you did as a Coastie. Over FL200, which is most of your typical flight, you are required to watch the computer fly unless it’s broken, which it never has been in over 2 years for me. That’s balanced with the fact that all you do is fly. No ground job, no collateral duties, no fitreps, no PRTs, most of your preflight planning is done for you, and you are headed home about 20 minutes after your gear touches pavement. It’s a lot less challenging but a lot safer than either your Coastie flying or EMS. Also as a regional pilot, you don’t tend to get much respect from mainline pilots. There’s a sense at mainline that everyone wants to go to mainline, and that if you aren’t there, you must be a bad pilot. Pretty silly, as I’ve found that as I fly larger and larger aircraft, they get easier and easier to operate, but it is what it is.
As far as going to mainline, I can only pass on what I’ve heard. Far more pay per hour, just be cautious, as always, chasing more money than you need. Money doesn’t buy happiness. Longer legs which means fewer legs per day and fewer unpaid airport sits. Most people look at this as a big positive, but coming out of the service I actually much prefer the shorter legs where I’m actually doing pilot stuff instead of watching the computer fly. To each his own. Usually more flexibility with schedules which is good once you get some years in and get some seniority. Mainline flies to big cities so you’ll be overnighting in JFK or ORD or LAX rather than Kalispell, MT or San Luis Obispo, CA. Again, no right answer, but it is a big difference. Also anecdotally, mainline tends to put their FAs in different hotels than pilots and crews rarely do anything together on overnights. That’s not the case at most regionals, including OO. But, the money is big and the respect is there.
Personally, I really enjoy flying at OO and have decided to stay, at least for now, BUT I have a military pension to supplement my income, which makes a huge difference. It’s a good company that’s well managed. The chief pilots are mostly solid and good at screening us from the bean counters in HQ. The company culture in general tends towards helping out when life throws you a legit curveball, rather than sticking to a contract and punishing you. There are a couple things I wish were a bit different, but that’ll be true anywhere. Most of the complaining seems to be from pilots who never had a real job and seem to have some pretty unreasonable expectations.
I don’t know you so I can’t say OO is right for you or not, but I hope I’ve at least given you some things to consider. I wish you luck with whatever you decide.