the pilot shortage at the regionals that your friends may have benefited from is slowly coming to a halt. look for little or no attrition from any regional for quite a while until the majors pick up hiring again. with 5 airlines going under last week, and more on the horizon, my best advice is to stay in school, get a masters in something non aviation related. i know its hard pill to swallow, but believe me, it will be well worth it. at 225 hrs you're pretty limited as to where you can go. skywest, republic, and many others are slowing down hiring to nothing. with no hiring at the majors, and not much more growth at the regionals, equals little attrition, and little need for new pilots. like i said, get a second degree, masters, whatever, you'll be better off when the bad times hit!