Just my personal take on it all with my own unique set of circumstances. I'm best part of a year into my first job now flying regional TP's. I'll be 40 next year, and left a job which though paying me handsomely was seriously depleting my vitality and making me miserable. I always used to be happy and outgoing but had become rather jaded and withdrawn in recent years. I flew as a hobby, but the itch never went away. I have a wife, but had no children at the time, and I have seriously disrupted her life in my pursuit of this, but I think she saw it was necessary for my sanity.
Every day since, no matter what (early starts, disruption, security hassle, rubbish food, poor facilities, all the usual moans management, blah blah etc etc) I find I've never felt so alive, and I look forward to going to work like a child anticipates going on a birthday outing. Every single day. I have NEVER looked forward to going to work before! Every day is a challenge and I'll learn something new about the aircraft itself, handling it, the weather, routings, you name it. I love mixing with different captains & cabin crew each day, and of course, the views can take your breath away.
When the old hands moan about the politics, (mis)management, penny-pinching, slow erosion of terms etc, I obviously can see it happening but it's like water off a duck's back to me. Compared to the City, my previous life, characters like Micky O'Leary resemble big cuddly fluffy teddys. There's nothing going on here which hasn't been happening in other industries for years. It's capitalism, and in many ways it's bad but on the other hand it provided me with the springboard to this in the first place. The only difference I see is when times are good, people in the City tend to vote with their feet more and thus drive back up the terms/money. I don't see that so much in aviation - maybe pilots enjoy moaning more?
Anyway just my own unique viewpoint, from my own unique set of circumstances. By the way, I'd probably be classed as one of the anorak types (I think "aeroplane" might have been the first word I ever spoke) and this obviously makes everything that much less of an effort!