What they fail to tell you is the years you'll spend getting to the regional. You're not going to go straight from DCA to the regionals like you might have a couple years ago.

Nothing wrong with instructing, in fact I loved doing it for two years. What I didn't like was not being able to pay my bills. So I bailed for a regional that I could get hired at with lower time.

What did I get out of that? After six months, I was so burned out I left for another regional. Having half the month off is a great time to get a second job. I dont' know where on earth anybody can live on first year FO pay. Especially when they're six-figures in debt to DCA. As for traveling? You likely won't be able to afford going anywhere.