Yeah if you're legally even eligible for a forced upgrade, you've had plenty of time and experience to prepare.

Many folks say that if you're not CA material and motivated to be a CA that you have no business in airline aviation. I don't necessarily agree with that however seniority is a thing in airlines and it is possible and common to be junior-assigned into a position you'd rather not be in... whether that's a reserve assignment, a base, and plane or even the left seat. If you're the junior-most person who is *qualified* for upgrade then that's how it's going to go.

If you work for OO, they've always been crystal clear up front that they hire future CA's, not SICs.

In this climate if you really want to be a career FO that is an option... go from regional FO to ULCC, settle in and get comfortable. They won't force you to upgrade (unless their attrition gets *really* bad).