Flying Farmer, the reality is that pilot recruitment is profit centre for ryr. Ignore Slim Shadys rubbish about not making the grade, he clearly isn't paying much attention if he thinks making the grade is a prime requisite for ryr FO's. The only requirement is the ability to stump up money and then accept below legal minimum wage pay. The maximum amount that can screwed out of pilots is at cadet level, so thats what your offered. What we then saw in action is the direct result of newbies prostituting themselves: they could offer you $hit because if you didn't taking it, some other muppet will.
SE210, that is the most succinct and accurate post on the subject I've seen in a long time.
Farty Flaps, bilious perhaps, but thorougly deserved.
Of course the established pilots have a part to play in improving T&C's, but the continual refusal of the buy-a-jobs to accept any responsibility is rather galling.
As F Flaps pointed out, nobody forces you into debt to go flying. The fact you have done so is no good excuse to cut your own throat thereafter.
As someone else said, that taking that debt is about calculated risk, well clearly the calculations failed if you're then forced to spend more to buy a job.
Anyway, it's your own futures you're wrecking, I just don't appreciate you wrecking everyone elses too.