I'm a CFI nearing my ATP hours and could potentially finish later this year. I'm looking for advice from those who are or have flown at the regionals, specifically Mesa.

The place I work will get me to about 100h shy by December (from my assigned student load). I could make that extra 100h up on my own, but it would be pretty expensive. Of course I don't have the money to pay for that time on my own, but if I were to join the Mesa cadet program I would receive $10,000 of the $30,000 signing bonus 60 days after a successful interview, which I could then use on flying.

Doing this could move my class date up by 5 months or more, which I think is pretty significant. If I chose not to take that option I'd essentially be locking myself into another semester (Spring 2023) and not getting to training until May or June, plus going c. 100-125 hours above my minimums (wasted time).

However, the talk I've heard about Mesa in the briefing rooms hasn't been interstellar. I know they have pretty poor Y1 FO pay ($36/hr), but I also know that's in negotiations and TBH I'd be willing to take slightly less pay for an earlier class date. It's also worth noting that I'm in the United Aviate program, so my options are Mesa, GoJet, CommutAir, & Air Wisconsin. I can't chose a different regional unless I renounce my Aviate membership.

My question for the peanut gallery is this: besides pay, what reasons would lead a pilot to not go to Mesa? Are there factors I may be unaware of that I should be considering?