From the City to FI...
I left behind a great job in the city a couple of years ago to concentrate on my flying career. I now work as a full-time instructor, partly to help build my hours, but mostly because I'd rather be flying than sitting behind a desk waiting for an FO job that might never come. The money is irrelevant because I actually enjoy my job and don't care that I no longer eat in fancy restaurants or drive a sports car.
If money is important to you this is definatley the wrong profession to become involved with. On top of that I rarely spend time with my wife or friends, as every weekend I have to work. The same will apply when progression to an airline occurs, and more importantly we will probably have to relocate to wherever that future employer has opportunities.
Flying is never going to be a Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 job, but fortunantley I have a partner that supports my career choice and would rather see me happy, doing something I really enjoy.
I guess I'm just trying to say that life's too short not to enjoy yourself. If you want to fly then go for it and good luck to you... just remember, that FO job might be a long time coming so be prepared to eat at Beefeater and not Bibendum.