Nose factor and good connections are important. One new FO from flight school without any experience started a few month ago. His father is a checker from the FBL's former company LTU.
Rumours from Vereinigung Cockpit, a German labour union for pilots, blamed about inhuman behaviour.
FO with no typerating starts with 40.000 € per year, no extras. This means for a single who have to pay taxes in Germany less than 2000 € per month.