In my drunken stuper, I will try to pass along some hard learned knowlege. I chased the quick upgrade and found it. Then to be down graded and furloughed in a year. Pick an airline you can live with for a career if needed, or you might have the lesson like me an pick it the second time. Problem is "time". we aint gettin younger. Eagle is a place that will take care of you and you can work there with pride, not always looking for the next door out. Choose wisley, it may cost you in the long run. Who knows, if I had chosen Eagle, I would have just been awarded captain and not have been in Poverty the last four of five years.

Keep in mind Colgan is about to go through a seniority list merger and become Mesaba Airlines... Who knows what will happen with upgrades over there.

The FOs in MKE want to be in MKE, and are fairly senior. I don't know where they stand, with regards to upgrade, but I would plan for the entire base to close, before you have the ability/seniority to hold MKE. You'll probably have the seniority and time to upgrade to FMN, before you'd have the ability to get into MKE, as an FO. Same thing goes for the CA side of MKE. They all want to be there, and probably won't leave until the base closes.

If you were already hireable with eagle and great lakes then you'd really have to say something stupid not to be hired at colgan. So I'd interview there anyways, if you want to get to a major that needs turbine PIC then don't go to Eagle. At great lakes, you'll get really fast upgrades but everything else will be crappy unless you happen to live at your home base. Colgan offers best of both Eagle and Great Lakes worlds. Though I've heard from friends that it still majorly sucks to fly at Colgan too. But you can't have everything in the regional it's either a sacrifice for upgrades or no sacrifice and long upgrades.

EXACTLY. This is the best advice here.

I know to someone just starting, this probably makes no sense, to turn down the first turbine job in the name of future quality of life but it will 5 years from now. Many people end up lateraling from the crappy regionals to the better ones, so chances are that's what you're going to be doing if your heart isn't in it for the sacrifice. Choose the best place now so you don't have to lateral down the road.

If the goal is to get to a major then go for the quick upgrade.You can always make that lateral move after you get your 1000pic and then just sit in the better QOL knowing you have one of the prerequisites to DAL SWA Fed Ex job.If you go to say Lakes and after 2 years you have that 1000 pic the majors will take a look at you. If you go to Eagle you most likely wont have the PIC time for 8 years. That's 6 less years of exposure to hiring sprees.

Rumor has it they are going to be out of MKE soon. This is just something I heard so GLA guys don't chastise me if I'm wrong.

First we need a JCBA, which very likely is not happening anytime soon. Then, we need a SLI, which cannot happen until we get a JCBA. I wouldn't be too worried about the merger right now.

I think the goal is "soon", but we shall see.

Know a 2 year FO that cant get in there.