The wages are low, but not that bad really compared to your "more desireable jobs". I was there for just under 3 years and let me tell you what I made:

Year 1: I made absoultely nothing... it sucked and I couldn't buy anything or do anything fun because I couldn't afford it. Then I upgraded exatly one year from my date of hire.

Year 2: I was a new 1900 captain on reserve for about 6 months. $29/hr at 75 hr guarantee (~$13050). Then I started holding 85 hour lines and for the rest of the year (~$14790). For the year total, I made ~$27,840 plus perdiem. Then I transitioned to the Brasilia.

Year 3: We were short on brasilia pilots and I held a line at $37/hr. I was flying about 85 hours a month at first and then I would pick up some open time and bring myself down to 10 days off and ~110-115 hours of credit. I was building Turbine PIC baby and I was doing it fast. AND I was on my way to making near 50K for the year. I was bringing home around $3000-$3200 per month after taxes and including perdiem.

Point being: you may make a little more at an RJ job over the course of 3 years, but you won't have 2 type ratings, over 1000 TPIC, and numerous contacts in the industry.

Also, there are some places that prefer Jet PIC over TP PIC, but not as many as you think. I have flown with guys that are now at FedEx, Alaska, Southwest, Frontier, and AirTran to name a few. I went to Frontier and now I am getting furloughed.

Now... Who has a better resume?: Me or the guy at Republic who has been a captain on the RJ for a couple of years and also has 1000TPIC+? I don't know the answer to that because it depends on who is looking at it. I would, however, put my resume against any RJ captain at an interview and feel just as qualified.

I will tell you that if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. Lakes opens the door to opportunities faster than any other regional in the industry.

Just my .02

Flex (ramrod)