Thanks for the information Rickair7777. The starting sooner than later is the big hurdle for me as I cannot just walk away from what I am doing due to my status in the company. One of those double edged swords where I could but then my end game wouldn't be able to sustain the tougher years ahead.
A couple of more comments/questions:
-If I do decide to go get a CFI/II are accelerated courses any good? I am not sure if it would look better vs getting some random part time gig somewhere and while I do have some networking ongoing I want things to look as good as possible especially if Legacy's are a possibility I'd like to push for a better regional carrier or cargo carrier. I absolutely do not want to put myself in a position for any type of violation. If I do get a CFI/II I would most likely only be able to use it in a part time situation early mornings/nights/weekends and maybe at some point when/if I am ever slow break off and head to the airport to do some training for someone. I do love the idea of it and have been doing a lot of safety piloting for a friend trying to get his instrument rating. I find myself trying to instill the good habits my CFI put in me..... I guess some professional work in the field is better than none?
-I started with a paper log book. I've seen a few people mention switching over to digital. I am about 5 pages from finishing said logbook so it seems the time to switch if it is critical to moving forward.
-As far as the SODA/my eye condition I believe it is fairly stable at where it is. They caught it late (maybe Kindergarten) and I was patched for years until they said it was pretty much as good as it was going to get. My question is though: What does the stability of the bad eye have to do with ease of getting said SODA? I was under the impression from some of the other posts I have read here/reddit/abroad that once you are approved for the SODA they will never test that eye again. Am I correct in this? I'm local to the Atlanta area and have a pretty good AME right near KATL that I have been using who should be fairly well versed in the 1C medicals as I believe he does many for Delta. I will give him a call...
-I assume when you speak about peak retirements in 2027 I need to probably be interviewing no later than say 2025 for a regional?