It's sad that for some of you this hasn't been the career you hoped it would be and of course it's a good that the realities should be passed down to "wannabes" who may be similarly naive.
However, i'd like to reassure that many alternative careers have equal if not worse drawbacks. I think a lawyer's already spoken but as a doctor i can tell you that if you feel hard-done-by as a pilot then that's nothing compared to being at the hands of the NHS!
We regularly have to work shifts of 5pm to 10am, for example, for 7 days only to be owed a rest at the end which is denied as we have to start a new job in a new environment on a simliar week of nights. (is this turning into a Monty Python sketch!?) I hope that puts your 6 days of 12hr sectors into perspective slightly. Also, i don't know what i'm doing tomorrow, let alone next week so i can never categorically accept an invitation or make any firm plans.
I can see the worry with biennual simulator checks and the medical but most of us have to apply for new jobs every 6 months. So, you're 2 months into a job and already its time to fill in countless application forms and hopefully swat up for interviews. Also the whole career is a series of pretty tough (e.g. limit to 30% of applicants passing) exams that must be taken if you want to progress at all.
Pay: I'm on the highest london pay band and am payed about 2/3 the amount that pilots i know at a similar stage in their career get.
You think working in a cockpit is bad... you should try an A&E department on the edge of a london council estate. Alcoholics with bottle wounds tend to not be very grateful or respectful.
I haven't even mentioned management (best not get me started) or the general public but... My point is that we all have difficulties in our jobs that we have to deal with and if what you enjoy about the work outweighs this then great... go for it. Just don't be despondant if everything isn't exactly as you imagined it, nothing ever is.
And if you don't like it.. find something else to do, whether it's plumber/teacher/gardener/whatever and free the job for someone who really wants to do it. I'm sure most jobs are easier to break into than the one you feel trapped in at the moment.
I'm not knocking the professionals who have shared their experiences, by default the thread required you to whinge! As i said there maybe those who are going into this career without realising these details and its possible someone reading this thread will be rightfully swayed away from professional aviation. I know a lot of doctors would have been helped if they were aware of the realities sooner. I just thought it should be said that you may be viewing alternative careers with rose-tinted specs.
As someone not directly connected with aviation i realise that some of my views may be not that well informed. However, i think can offer an objective stance.