Well done Carmoisine. I cannot speak too highly of your honesty and helpfulness. Yours is the authentic story that so many "do not want to hear". Thanks also to scroggs for facilitating the debate.
It is particularly helpful that you are obviously within your first couple of years in FR and you stand out in being prepared to come here and spell it out (far too few do). I gave up attempting to help / guide wannabe's by posting when I saw the general unwillingness to use the many posts here to generate even a little bit of caution in their fevered desire to pay Ryanair to screw them.
Now there are no long any co-pilots in FR earning good - industry standard - money. In the recent words of MOL (in HHN at a public meeting with pilots): "The carrot for co-pilots in future will be early command".
The captains are next on the list for further reductions. And some of them have not realised that yet either, so I have in this case some sympathy for the wannabe's. At least they have some excuse!