Thank you everybody for all your input, that was exactly the kind of information I was looking for and pretty much what I expected. Yes I was planning to get the ATP at upgrade but since that's turning into a more distant reality I have started to think of paying for it out of my own pocket. Gotta realize these regional FO jobs are very low paying, I can barely afford rent and food, so investing my own cash in an ATP is something I would like to avoid if possible. I think I'll send a resume over to my potential "in" company in NJ, if that turns out to be a dead end I'll shell out the money for an ATP and go from there.
About leaving a job for another job in this industry being a bad idea, that's a very valid point. I thought about it for a minute though, and the fact is in my particular situation I'm tetoring on being furloughed, making less than 30k per year, getting PIC is no where in sight and I feel like I have pretty much reached a plateau on useful SIC, so the way I see it I don't have much to loose at this point.
Once again thanks everyone for all the replies, they were all informative and appreciated.
About leaving a job for another job in this industry being a bad idea, that's a very valid point. I thought about it for a minute though, and the fact is in my particular situation I'm tetoring on being furloughed, making less than 30k per year, getting PIC is no where in sight and I feel like I have pretty much reached a plateau on useful SIC, so the way I see it I don't have much to loose at this point.
Once again thanks everyone for all the replies, they were all informative and appreciated.
