Alpha Charlie:
What idiocy is this? You want to do the job for expenses only? Its fools like you that have seen pay in the industry reduced year on year for far too long already. I love flying, I really do, but I'm not prepared to see my profession sold down the river by people such as yourself.
The required training, the cost of said training, and the level of responsibility invloved in doing the job should determine the pay rate. Comparing pilots to other professions, I believe on those grounds we should be earning more than the average lawyer or accountant, and slightly less than the average doctor.
Lots of people want to be doctors - university places are massively oversubscribed, yet you don't hear people suggesting Doctors should have their salary reduced as a result. So don't do yourself and your potential colleagues down like that.
And to all of you namby-pamby tree-hugging types who'll tell me off for snapping at the guy on his first post - its you lot that seem able to rant for pages about how bad it is for BA CitiExpress to undercut BA mainline pilots, who shouldn't be undermining GB pilots, etc, etc.
Nip these stupid ideas in the bud while they're young I say!
Doesn't matter how much you love your job, never sell yourself short. Everyone else in the world isn't so nice, and they'll take your money away and walk all over you with a big smile on their face. Especially airline managers.