Lakes is what it is.
Cons:
- you will make $14,000-$15,000 as an F.O., $24,000-$25,000 as a captain,
- you will be junior manned,
- you will sit some 14-hour hot reserve, at the airport, in uniform, ready to fly,
- you will likely not have a contract (it's been 5 years now without one, and very little progress has been made),
- the company can work you up to 16 hours a day,
- you will not be paid for flying that the company takes off of your schedule,
- you will have to make it through one of the toughest 121 training programs in the industry...without pay (3 in my class of 8 couldn't cut it),
- you will work your a$$ off, sometimes flying 8 or more legs a day without enough time to grab a sandwich or take a dump,
- no flight attendent...which means you're the flight attendent,
- you will fly into and overnight in mostly small towns that you have probably never heard of, and there's a reason for that.
Pros:
- fastest upgrade around, sometimes in less than a year,
- you will build time fast (you can fly up to 34 hrs/7 days, 120 hrs/mo, and 1,200 hrs/yr),
- you will fly with a lot of great people,
- your flying skills will be better than they will ever be in your life, and you will develop balls of steel because you will HAND fly in some intense T-storms, snow storms, winds, turbulence, and icing,
- you will actually get to FLY an airplane into some airports with awe inspiring mountain views,
- the Beech is a tank, and it is very forgiving (nice characteristics to have for a relatively green Captain),
- any job you take after you get your time at Lakes will seem like a dream.
If you can tough it out for about 3 years to get your 1,000 PIC, you can move on to the next level in a hurry. Pilots who have left Lakes recently have gone on to Alaska, Frontier, AirTran, NetJets, FedEx, Kalitta, Pace, Ryan, Champion, and USA3000 just to name a few. If you want to get your time and get out, Lakes is a good place to do it. If you are looking for QOL, think twice.