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Two things to note from your comments:
1. A very close friend has taken 4+ years to get his first airline job (not at BMI). He said to me only this week how rose coloured the glasses were for all that time! Don't think it's all a joy, yes most of us enjoy it but commercial aviation is long, antisocial hours with lots of hassle that could so easily be dealt with by others.
2. As above, to say you would work for much lower pay is stupid. Many have put themselves in debt for thousands and struggled onto the ladder. They have not been subsidised in their training as Doctors, Lawyers, etc but are expected to be thoroughly professional and faultless each day they work.
I can think of no other industry where you put your job on the line every 6 months in a simulator, as we do. We get paid for our high professional standard and the amount of responsibility we have.