Those of us fortunate to have type-ratings before the current situation of paying for your own rating can afford to say they would never pay for a rating. Alas, that luxury does not exist for a young person starting out. If you want a job in this day and age then paying for a rating is generally speaking the only way forward.

There is no doubt that right now the A320 has many more jobs available than the 737 - that can all change very quickly though and beggars cannot be choosers! For what it is worth, I do not think Boeing had a choice regarding the re-engining option. Had they opted for a completely new design, with all the attendant risk that would create, it would have opened the door for their core customers to take a rain check and buy Airbus. There is a lot as yet unclear about the A320 NEO - including cockpit enhancement such as Electronic Flight Bags etc. I have no doubt it will be a fine machine and I do not see how a re-engined Boeing can compete with the Airbus - but time will tell on that one.