Originally Posted by
Excargodog
Absolutely correct. As a 25 year old you have 40 years of 121 flying ahead of you. Get the ME time you are short on as a SIC. By the time you are eligible to upgrade explore the options available THEN before you commit to upgrade. Right now you need HOURS with multi engine better than single engine and turbine better than piston. Even the ULCCs are going to want you to have ~3000 hours.
It's unclear at this time if the regionals care much about AMEL time. Maybe the market will drive competitive times back up to 200-300 ME, or maybe not. They might just stick with 25 hours and you get the rest in the sim.
But he can probably get a few hundred before he upgrades anyway.