I just past 41 yrs of professional flying. Forty seven years in total. It's changed but I'd do it again in a a heart beat but I'm in the U.S. Different countries would have different circumstances. People have given up 777 Captain jobs overseas to return to the U.S. to be 737 FO's. So it's not just the quality of the seat you're sitting in that matters.
People shouldn't think for a second that they'll rapidly achieve the level of success, income, stability, or seniority that long time pilots have. It takes years and years, often decades, to achieve the better level of quality of work life. That's the unknown that each person has to experience themselves to judge if it's worth it. How much income will you forgo to achieve a job satisfaction that you won't know until it's years later? recall reading a new CFI complaining about his job after 6 months and asking if there was some special job that someone could point out to him so that he could rapidly advance to a jet job with the highest pay and most days off. Like tens of thousands of guys wouldn't be telling their buddies about that job but were keeping it quiet waiting to reward some total stranger the job opportunity. At least in the U.S. the opportunity for a decent job, even while you're 'cutting your teeth', has never been better. Other countries will have different career opportunities and payoffs.