Pay is actually pretty poor!
When you consider the responsibility of the job and the consequences of getting it wrong, then we are not well compensated. I am very much the poor relative amoungst my alma mater and have friends earning many times my salary in relatively mundane office jobs. Its time we all woke up and looked arround!
Yes we are better paid than cleaners, administrators and most manual labourers, but how many other professionals take the crap we take for so little? This is perpetuated by advertising such as "come and earn a packet with 5 GCSES". In that context it does look good, but I firmly believe that we're being taken for a ride.
So why do I do it? Because I don't want to work in an office counting beans, and (shhh! quietly!) it is actually a really rather enjoyable way to spend your day's work.
So back to the original question: The job can be good. The pay is OK if you don't have great expectations. You improve your chances by reading PPRuNe.
Good Luck!
Last edited by Dan Dare; 15th April 2002 at 22:40.