I absolutely agree with you. Sick of reading rubbish on here from pilots making out it is all sunshine and unicorns that are farting ice cream cones out all day. I have multiple type ratings, airline captain (short haul), had the opportunity to do long haul on multiple occasions but just could not bring myself to do it.
The job is tedious, monotonous and the terms and conditions have been run into the ground. Airline management are some of the worst people you will ever find. I have done charter, executive, airline and ACMI flying so have a wide range of experience. I am also qualified with a BSc degree in Computer Science and have 12 years in that industry before I became a pilot. Luckily I was never in debt as I made good money in IT and had enough cash to pay upfront for my flight training.
The career has been destroyed. The pleasure of taking a plane into the air as a pilot is one thing, working in this industry is another. Any youngster today considering this as a job is INSANE!! Dont waste your money, go into something like LAW and Business and you can literally do anything then. Aviation is far too unstable and not worth the heartache. Im also still employed by the way as a pilot so this is not a rant from a pilot who lost his/her job.
I have 15 years in this industry. I have met a lot of very decent hard working pilots and had some good times but the bad definitely outweigh the good. As the OP says if you enjoy responsibility and things that make you think like research and project management then this career is not for you. If you are thinking of getting into a 150K worth of debt to become a pilot and then start looking for a job...DONT!!
If I had to do my time again, would I become a professional pilot? Answer...HELL NO!! Flying a plane as a pilot is fun, being part of the aviation industry absolutely sucks!!