Lets compare
A BSc Engineer Graduate - 3 to 4 years HARD studyng and if hes lucky he gets a 20k job after grduation.
A pilot - 12 months EASY work (most of the time he's sitting on his back side waiting for the weather to change) . Indeed if you add the effective training together its probably a lot less than 12 months......
Why on earth should the pilot graduate get a 50k starting job? I am one and I like the idea, but we may need to be realistic. A 4 year apprentice, like most apprentices, could be seen as doing ppl, instructing, hour building etc whilst working to earn cash and avoiding huge debt. Just because some poor sod has joined the rest of the worlds rat race by taking credit and trying to race into the RH seat of a jet does not mean he should handed a shiny job with a big salary - and lets admit it - the job is easy compare to many others.