I don't think it's going to be 3 to 5 years. As long as the economy continues to improve, I think everyone will be hiring by the end of 2011. I just saw an ad for Horizon this week. Pinnacle is hiring, Colgan is hiring, Lakes is hiring, Eagle is hiring, and ASA is hiring at the regional level. At the major/LCC level, US Air, Continental, American, Delta, AirTran, JetBlue, Spirit, Allegient, Virgin America, Hawaiian, and Alaska are hiring (either actively or people in class now) or recalling. Omni, Evergreen, World, Northern and other large aircraft operators have advertized that they are hiring. It's here, folks. The snowball is just small and at the top of the hill! Let it roll down the hill for a little while and qualified pilots will be able to get a job if they want one.

Also,you don't need an internal rec for ASA, it just gets your app to the front of the line for review faster!