True, I would have certainly jumped at the chance back then...but I didn't know what I didn't know. My 20/20 hindsight includes the experience of seeing every traffic watch/pipeline person in my new-hire classes flunk out.

I am not try to trash anyone who went this route and succeded, I'm simply trying to point out that if you aspire to an airline job you need to stay current on many knowledge areas and the instrument skills. CFI's keep the knowledge up by teaching, and most of them have access to sims to maintain their hands-on skills. My overall instrument skills improved dramatically by teaching instruments in the sim and in the airplane...I learned from other peoples mistakes, especially the ones that recur often.

Again, the point I was making is that if you have the good fortune to get a job actually flying at the 500 hour level, make sure you take the extra steps to retain your competetive edge. Airline training in an RJ is not about stick-and-rudder skills...the AP comes at 600' AGL...it's about knowledge and management. If you go to the turbo-prop that could be a different story.