To all the people that say get a different job in a better industry and just fly for fun:
If you did that, your net pay/savings would be less than your first years as a regional F/O. To fly a plane that isn't too much a risk to your life for an hour will cost you about 135 - 145 dollars. Forget about ownership, Planes cost wayyy too much to buy let alone park/maintain/FUEL... Like everything else in today’s bushed up economy, it's out of reach unless you were born with a trust fund, or your Daddy is a CEO.
650 bux a month even if you rented and only flew for 1 hour a week! And it's only gonna get more expensive.
So if you are middle class (aka poor) and you want or like to fly, doing it for a living is pretty much the only option these days.
I'd say get the ratings on your own if you don't already have them(pay as you go, no god damn loans), you already have a degree (I hear this doesn't matter much anymore)... I'd go try it out for a few years and see if you like it. You can always get another job somewhere else if you don't like it. Life is too short to not try as much as you can. It can't be much worse than wasting away and getting fat under flourescent lights with no windows all while kissing the right peoples asses / appeasing the powers that were born into their fortune.
IMO our whole career structure is a scam. Ever since the average person started going to college, everyone is sort of a PFJ (If they had to pay for college that is...).