Thanks as well Jim..

This was inspired by a PM I just received but wanted to share my thoughts on the thread:

I understand the point of view of the guys that missed the 2007 hiring boom and are still CFI'ing it, but as I said on the thread, I could care less which side of the cockpit I'm flying from. I just want to earn a good living flying, living somewhere I like with a schedule that doesn't leave me so fatigued I often forget where the hell I parked in the employee lot and once I find my vehicle, fall asleep in it before I can even get my flashing "low beer" light taken care of. It just so happens when you go my route, upgrade is must to get to the high paying high QOL jobs.

Flying a TP in the flight levels is fun for about the first 6 months. Then when the reality of how much responsibility you have compared to what you earn hits you....

Emmm, yeah...not so fun anymore. You become bitter, pessimistic about the job you have always wanted and are constantly coming up with new and creative ways to get more time off then you are actually scheduled for...You become obsessed with the "go home leg".

In retrospect, I would probably already have a good corporate gig at a fortune 500 company had I gone the CFI route, then flew boxes for Airnet or AmFlight vs. taking the 2007 regional shortcut. I may have even wound up with a Lear Type to get me in the corporate door quicker. I would much rather be in the part 91 world than the airlines but because I went 121 so low time, I'm now tainted goods in view of most corp. CP's. So I had to alter my career goals now to suit staying in the airlines. I never wanted to be an airline pilot...I always wanted a corporate job from the day I passed my Pvt. check ride...

It's hard to say, second guessing is usually pointless. But the route I went to time build may end up biting me in the ass vs. where some of you are today.

I put the cart before the horse and I am now paying the price....I've been "regionalized"...

@Paxhauler: thanks for the info. I did not know Compass was AQP (which makes the airline even less attractive then it was before as being at an AQP carrier pretty much sucks), that does make a difference money wise, but it still concerns me that they don't have enough respect for their pilots to take care of their training accommodations. It's disappointing that the union over there hasn't addressed that yet. And no matter how you slice it, there are significant long-term issues with being on at a wholly owned you will soon discover. But in your case, you definitely made a step up from MAG so it was a good move for you. In my case Compass would be a stupid mistake.