I agree. I already had a CL-65 type (PIC, no restrictions) when I was hired with Mesaba. I had been an instructor on the CRJ-200 for about a year and got put on the 900 at XJ. Even though my Mesaba training was essentially more of a "differences training" as opposed to initial (even though it was technically still initial), I didn't see anybody in either ground or sim training that was having any more trouble than I was, despite them not having any CRJ knowledge beforehand. The instructors at Mesaba and Bombardier are very good (can't speak for CAE). A CRJ course or type rating looks nice on the resume, but it's not worth the student loan payments.