Do you want Colgan 3407? Because this is how you get Colgan 3407 - I say this slightly in jest, but there is something to be said for a "wide array" of experience up front too. Not saying two super experienced freight dawgs with a combined flight time of over 10,000hrs wouldn't have done the same thing (I can unequivocally say that if I had just done a bunch of training on tail-plane icing I'd be tempted to pull back too, there but for the grace of god go I and all that, and having experienced tailplane icing before, I'd hope I'd recognize the difference)...but I think more diverse time up front is "good" for safety in the industry. The guy who flew freight, then bush (or vice versa) then spent 6 months tooling around Africa, then ISR in the desert, then freight for a winter some place new, then a season or two in the Caribbean having some adventures before he or she decided to get real about their career is (dare I say) better equipped to handle the occasional black swan event when they jump into the right seat of an RJ - especially if that person has done it without bending metal, without getting violated, etc. It's also the case that if that guy or gal gets furloughed from RJ land when the economy tanks again (and it will do it again one day) he or she will be in a better position to get a job that can pay the bills in the interim while they wait for recall.
Not only do I think variation and diversity in the career is good for the soul, I also think it's good for the pilot. I get that your career is important - but if you are in your early 20s and learning to fly, take until you're 30 doing something FUN and interesting and dynamic before you go fly airlines. I mean, if you get out of college and have all your ratings by 24, that's 6 years to learn about flying, then 35 more years to click the automation on at 250' on departure, then off again at DH. The 121 world (which I've never been a part of, so perhaps I'm not qualified to comment) is built around the idea of staying in the gooey center of the envelope, minimizing surprises, etc. A lot of the rest of aviation isn't like that (indeed I think this is why part 135 accident rates are so high) - this isn't necessarily a good thing and I've spent a lot of my career trying to make part 135 safer in Alaska, but ultimately, if you cut your teeth in this world before you go to the highly structured world of 121, if you can adapt (and some guys cannot) you'll be better for it I suspect.
That doesn't mean that the 121 regional world doesn't spit out some great aviators (in fact some of the best pilots I've ever flown with cut their teeth in that world) - but learning more about aviation than what's in the FOM at BrandX is a good thing. It's just that I don't think it's a good thing for the first time a guy sits in the left seat other than instructing is with 100 people in the back. I'm sure it's probably fine, and 121 is safer than ever, and all that - but to OP, do you want to get a seniority number and wait for upgrade, or do you want to have adventures, have fun, really learn how to fly, make decisions, and be a captain? On the other side, you'll probably scare the bejesus out of yourself too, you have a lot higher probability of getting killed or violated, and you'll probably lose a friend or two along the way.
It really depends on what motivates, why you want to do what you're doing, and how much BS you're willing to tolerate. And
@Richman is right, if you miss the wave, you'll be kicking yourself if you don't like it or are ready to get a "real job", but who knows what the future has in store. Frankly, I'm glad I took the path I did and would recommend it to anyone - there was some nonsense along the way, some broken promises, and some heart-break...but honestly, I'm happy I took the route I did, and honestly don't think I would change a thing.
