A LOT!
In 1968 your chances of getting a Hawker Hunter was 1: 200 and the cost of a CPL equalled the price of 2 Jag E types ( with a 1:70 chance of an airline job), but .....if you made it all the way to the national carrier you had the choice among unlimited CAs ( with free samples), lucrative stationings abroad (pick any house back home for the taxfree allowances) or fly short haul with earliest DEP 0800 and back before dinner - and the prospect of the equivalent to a 2 million Euro pension fund at retirement age 55.
But...unless you flew the latest hardware you had to negotiate the Pond with wierd LR nav systems and ADFs, your handflying skills could make the difference between success and disaster, and early jet engines (not to speak of pistons) had a boring tendency to flame out, stall, explode or what else... and you were there all alone with no back up (and no interference).
AND NOT A LOT
There were still crises in 69,73,80,89,2001 and every time the entire industry (maybe except LH) was taken by total surprise only surpassed a few years later when the next upswing came and no pilots were to be found (because we had been fired and some found a real job in the meantime). The pay has always been governed by supply-demand and in the early jet days the demand wastly exceeded the few military jet-jocks available, hence the Prime Minister salaries. And ever since we complained that the good, old days were over...(and forgot when we had to sell everything to survive in the business)
BUT WHAT HAS CHANGED?
You are never lost, you rarely fly with a dead engine, few do flight planning/W+B/loading from scratch and you do not have to memorise exotic emergency checklists . Operation is a breeze today..
But...security can be a pain, slottimes can ruin your day, pax are flying at ungodly hours for no fees and the airline will only pay you a fraction of this no fee.
SO...as LEDERHOSEN pointed out spot on: We are many more today who can enjoy this line of work. But like in the IT-industry; when everybody can punch the right buttons the magic is gone and with it the big salaries.
And the big difference: Today they do not ground you at 55 or 60, so even as an old fart you can still pester the lives of the next generation aviators by almost true stories about the good, old days - and you will guaranteed have more cockpit time to do with!
