Wow. Some thread you've got going on here.
First of all, I really hope you don't mind a wannabe sniffing around on these forums. I just wanted to get a real idea of what it was like at the thick end of the wedge before I made any life-changing decisions. I always wanted to fly the `shiny white jets', but only recently had the funding or impetus to start some real investigation.
The impression I get from PPRuNe is that commercial aviation isn't anything like the career it once was; hours are long; pay is relatively poor; treated like !!!!!, etc. But if one were to take Ryanair as being near the bottom of the heap in terms of airlines, how poor exactly are the conditions?
What is the average FO pay?
What do the expenses amount to?
How much stress is involved (obviously, this is subjective)?
I really need to know whether it's worth ditching a £30K 9-5 job (well actually it's 9-8, which is why complaining about 90 hours a month seems laughable to me) to give this a proper try.
I get the feeling most of you would say "no". Is it *that* clear cut?
ps. I kind of thought pilots would be above critising spelling and grammar in a discussion board. I guess that happens everywhere.
