two points.
first, you don't need to be particularly bright or talented to become an airline pilot. These days it is little more than a higher level computer operators job. That is not to say that there are not very talented pilots flying airliners, there are. But it is not a prerequiste for the job. I was once told that the BA selection procedure weeded out overly intelligent candidates as their boredom threshold would be too low to spend years in the job. Might just be true.
second, assuming that you are of just about adequate intelligence and ability, to qualify as an airline pilot all you have to do is keep throwing money at the problem and you'll end up with all the right qualifications and ratings to get the job. Do you know of anyone who took more than six attempts to get an initial IR, I do. How much did that cost? Please don't tell me that an airline will turn its nose up at a guy/girl who turns up on their doorstep with the ink on their self sponsered atpl and Airbus rating still damp. They'll certainly look at you, and if times are tough in the industry,ie anytime, they won't even look too hard. I know of any number of people with self bought ratings who work in the charter side of things.
I'm not having a go at anyone and when you look at the financial hardship many go thru to get an airline job, I think they deserve a medal. But the bottom line is CTC graduates are cheap, thats why its a popular scheme with the airlines.