In any field of endeavour you will find those who've become disillusioned because their expectations have been frustrated. For many airline pilots, the job has taken a big turn for the worse since 9/11 simply because the security situation has removed much of the relaxed attitude that was prevalent beforehand. For some, it's gone too far and they're taking their skills elsewhere. For the majority, it's just another part of the evolution of the profession.
50 years ago an airline pilot was akin to a god for many people. They were rare, well-paid, very mysterious characters who had much of the appeal of film stars of the time. The job was totally different to what it is now - in some ways harder, in others easier - but totally different. With the expansion of air travel and the improvements in aircraft, there are now many thousands of pilots flying incredibly complex (but simple to operate) aircraft through a flight environment (both legal and practical) that would have terrified those early pilots, who would have happily hand-flown a big four-prop through a tropical storm onto an unlit runway in Africa! And now they can all expect to reach and enjoy a long retirement, which was most certainly not the case in the early days!
It was much more glamourous and unreachable in those days, and some of those guys who've flown throughout much of the intervening period now resent the 'normalisation' of the profession into one that almost any intelligent, able and resourceful person can attain. They may also resent the degree to which other factors and people influence the operation of a modern airliner - where in the old days the captain made every decision relevant to the flight, now tens or even hundreds of others are involved in the process.
I've been flying since the mid 1970's, and operating four-engined long range aircraft since 1980 (though for much of that time in the military), and I've seen for myself how much it's changed. For me the essence of piloting a large aircraft, however, is still as it was way back then. The challenge of simply poling the thing is as satisfying as it ever was. I feel happiest working as part of a team, and the whole operation is much more of a team effort than perhaps it used to be. I don't feel myself to be better than others, or in some way special, so I don't worry that the profession has lost some of its prima donna elements - which, of course, appealed to many of the older generation of pilots (but if it appeals to you, you may be looking at the wrong profession!).
Flying aeroplanes commercially is not worse than it used to be, but it is different. Some embrace the changes, others do not. Don't be worried by the variety of opinions and personal stories you hear or read; that's just the rich diversity of life.
Scroggs