excrab,
All good points. I'm sure that the experience you mention would be invaluable and you are right there aren't many ex airline pilots at my club. I'm not surprised if they can make that kind of money in the sim.
What I am attempting to do here is get people like me to stand up for themselves. If you read the airline forums you will see that SSTR's are making it easier for those who have rich mums and dads, rather than those who have the best aptitude/skills, to get the job. Rightly many of you seem to think that this trend is destroying your terms and conditions. And you bemoan those who perpetuate the situation (comments on Ryanair spring to mind).
Very rarely do I read Airline pilots saying " what's best for the customer?"........Like cheap flights and arriving on time, or for that matter "what's best for the company?" Like cost cutting on type ratings to boost the profits. You strive for the best terms and conditions you can get and rightly so.
I view the subject of this threat as equivalent for the instructing trade. We are in the driving seat at the moment as there is a shortage of instructors, but rather than taking advantage of this and demanding better terms and conditions, many are finding reasons to do the opposite.