First; I am new to this forum. I want to thank all of you who give advice, and keep a positive attitude. I am a member of another popular aviation forum, and the attitude is no negative about the industry over there, I cannot take it anymore.

Now for my question(s);

Young aspiring pilots, like myself, long to fly jets. Some call it 'shiny jet syndrome', or simply 'SJS'. With most of the regional carriers having a jet based fleet, that longing to fly jets can easily come true, and with not many hours. The less 'attractive' airlines to young aspiring pilots tend to be those that still operate a mostly or all prop based fleet, such as Colgan, and some others. Airlines like Colgan offer the quick upgrade, usually about one year, and seem to offer better job security than some of the other regionals, despite being less attractive to fly for.

Are these airlines like Colgan the quicker ticket to a job with a major? Let me use a scenario comparing two pilots, both with equal time, both being hired and starting on the same day, but with different airlines. Pilot A gets hired and starts with Colgan. Pilot B gets hired and starts with ASA.

After one year, both have flown the same number of total hours. Pilot A, with Colgan is upgrading to captain. Pilot B, with ASA still has three more years to sit as an FO. With his upgrade to Captain, pilot A now makes more than pilot B, despite having made less his first year as an FO.

Flash forward three years. Pilot A has now logged well over 1,000 PIC turbine 121 time. Pilot B has logged well over a thousand 1,000 SIC 121 time. Pilot A now has the minimums, or over the minimums, to apply to the majors. He sends out his resume to places like UPS, FedEx, AirTran, JetBlue, SouthWest, etc. He gets a bite on one or more, has an interview, and gets hired. He is now in class to start as an FO with a major. ... Meanwhile, pilot B is just now in class to upgrade to Captain with ASA.

Ultimately, in this scenario, altough both pilots started their career at the same time, pilot A is further ahead, and has obtained his dream to fly for a major. Pilot B now has atleast a few years left at a regional, before he can apply to the majors. Is this a 'realistic' look at the advantages of flying for airlines like Colgan, as compared to flying the jets at somewhere like ASA, or an 'idealistic' view?