The really unfortunate thing about any "build the airplane" mentality is it can go too far. I don't remember the company, the Greek 737 with the depressurization problem. The guy was so busy trying to rebuild it and figure out the problem that he ignored the bells and whistles and forgot to put on the mask.
The attitude here in the U.S. is, if you can't fix it in the air then it isn't going to do you much good to know about it. You have a practical knowledge of systems designed to troubleshoot problems. I do think however, that since the industry is back on the fast track here, we need to teach some more basics.
I had an FO a couple weeks back that started to side slip the jet to get down on final!!!! We have to realize that if they did their training at a small school and found their way into a jet with very low time, they may not have looked at high speed aerodynamics. I approached my company about it and got the typical "we'll look into it" that they give to us lowly line captains. Oh well, I did my part.
As for the pay here, it sucks at first. Fortunately, even though on a world scale the pay is low, it is high enough to make a better than average living here. Excluding NYC, LA, and the higher priced areas of course. The cost of living is much lower than many places on the planet.