I spent a few years at Horizon. For the most part it is a depressing and life wasting dead end. I went there because an old Alaska Captain told me that "If I wanted to work for Alaska then I had better get on with Horizon". That was lesson number one, never listen to old Captains on how to get hired anywhere. The last time this guy had to look for work it was in the early 70's. I spent three years there and during that entire time 4 guys were hired from Horizon and 40 to 80 were hired from Skywest. The reality hit home one day when I was driving through town and saw a senior captain driving out from his trailer house in a mobile home park. The pay and opportunities are low. It takes around 8 years for a pilot to go through all the stages starting with denial and ending with acceptance. Almost everyone I have ever known who works there never was able to leave. The pilots there are depressed and sad every day. Upgrade is painfully slow. Currently it is between 5 and 7 years. I blame Horizon with killing my career.