Im not sure how many PLAN on making a regional their career but a lot of folks end up getting stuck there for one reason or another. Maybe the industry takes another sh!t like it did post 9/11. Maybe you are unable to upgrade. The most common reason I hear from guys who have decided to stay at the regional level is that it would just be too hard to move on. Once you have a few years seniority at a regional and are able to pick your schedule, vacation, etc it can be real hard to move on and go to the bottom of the reserve barrel. I talked to one senior captain that showed me the numbers, and it would have COST him something like $400K in loans to cover his pay loss for the 8 years until he broke even (assuming he didn't change his lifestyle) and that doesn't take into account QOL. To some, being able to see your kids little league game or be home for birthdays and Christmas is worth more than flying to exotic places in your 777 or few grand more a year.

That being said, there are some regionals out there that make better careers than others. The stable carriers like Eagle, Horizon, and Skywest are obviously better choices than Mesa, Pinnacle, and Big Sky. But its all relative and depends greatly on where you want to live, what you want to fly, etc etc. The major argument against a career at a regional is that the regionals are always at the mercy of their partner airline. When you are at the regional level, your management rarely has significant control over your destiny.