Love the Triglyceride part :)

I’m about to cobble together my own motorcycle project and yes…take a good look at Atlas.
74 or 77.

ACMI Career Advice to 28yo OP : Run From ACMI ASAP To an Airline that carries it's revenue under it's own brand name. Think "Big 6", even ULCC. You have 36 plus years of 121 flying ahead of you. That's a lot of time for life's priorities to change in response to events. The ~ 8% gap in B fund contributions between ACMI carriers and Big 6 / ULCC is nothing to sneeze at. Compounded over 3 decades , the difference can be staggering.

Lastly, I'm smashing the like button for JB and BaH posts. They speak from experience.

What vroll1800 said.

I get it man. I loved flying cargo, and medevac. Not having to walk through security and be in an airport terminal. I enjoyed all of my previous jobs. I never wanted to fly pax but after a few years at each previous gig I kept asking “is this where and how I want to spend the next 25-30 years?”
Now, I wouldn’t say pax is the only answer but work is very easy, as are the schedules. A good CBA goes a long way. A healthy 401k match + better benefits than any of my previous employers is comforting, too. Life gets better than ACMI. I just wish I made the switch at your age. As mentioned, there’s the Big 6 and then some. All are good options. Whichever you choose, good luck!

All good points. Cut my teeth as a freight dog and it offered opportunities I would not otherwise have been able to do.
Left that world after some time due to mainly to spending so much time away from home/young family.
Honestly the pax world has a far better retirement and CBA for the most part as well as schedule flexibility. The thing with freight is for the most part you can't get more days off with more seniority like you can in the pax world.
That may not be true at some carriers, but it was typical in my ACMI experience.

Is money the only thing that matters when considering career moves?

I suspect the OP is well aware of the difference in compensation between ACMI and anything else out there. Maybe there are other considerations beyond that.

You would think, but it seems like most everyone under 40 I run into these days prioritizes money over family and QOL. They say they don’t but actions speak louder and all that! To each their own, I just hope they wake up to reality at a younger age than I did.

Yes, unequivocally.
Money in the bank means retirement.
More money in the bank means earlier retirement.
“Big 6” money in the bank means retirement 10 years early.

https://piximus.net/media2/51281/big...i-memes-10.jpg

I think so. I ask my buddies at Atlas why are they still there. Better paying and qol elsewhere.

Reread my 1st sentence where I state to seek a company that flies payload under it's own brand name. I guess I have to spell this out for some people; LEVERAGE : If United is in contract dispute with pilots, they can't say "If you don't agree to our offer, we'll just shift some of our flying over to Delta." Leverage is everything. Better pay. Better retirement. Better "those other factors" such as scheduling, vacation, etc. ACMI carriers own your a$$ 16 - 17 days per month. Legacies have a chance of getting a widebody international schedule working 9 days per month. Many LCC have posts where they get lines with 13 days working. In your mid to late 50's, would you rather have 6 wks vacation or just 4 ? Pick not just the airline that you like at the moment, but what you see yourself doing for the next 2 decades or so.
It's tough to get meaningful improvements with the constant specter of "sugar daddy" (ies) shifting business elsewhere if you get too uppity.

On last point, IMO, OP is a young grasshopper who thinks he knows everything. Lessee, get's hired at ATI age 23 -24, has only 1 yr of line experience there, 3.5 yrs medical leave with some sim instructor time mixed in. I submit that he still has a lot to learn about the industry, and evaluating long term career prospects. Will he feel the same at age 40 , 50, or 60 as he does at 28 ?

Someone once said, "if you get to a fork in the road, take it. To that I'd add that one should recognize that they are at the fork(s) in the road. Several posters have suggested taking a different fork than the one OP is considering. The difference between the forks can be staggering with time. Consider one mutual fund example whereby Investor A invests $5K/yr between 25 and 30, and nothing more up to age 65. Investor B (as I recall) get's a late start, investing $5K/yr between age 45 and 65. Investor A ended up having more $ at age 65 than investor B despite only investing for 5 yrs. vs. 20, but locking in the effects of compounding at a much earlier age. OP is in a good position to be more like investor A if he choses the right fork.