Personally, I sympathise and empathise with Flying_Shortly. This IS the way the wind is blowing!
A lot of people seem to be criticising new pilots without considering the position we find ourselves in. It's all very well to tell us to forget a career in Aviation until 2012 when the Industry picks up but for many of us that's not possible and not sensible until we've tried every avenue to get work. By all means, advise people to delay their training until things improve, but people who are already trained are faced with limited options.
REALITY CHECK FOR NEW PILOTS
1. The FI, Air Taxi, Turbo-prop, Jet route is still possible. You will still have to beg/borrow/earn £50,000 to pay for your training. Fortunately, this route is open to everyone because no-one will assess yor suitability for the ultimate Jet job. During the 5-10 years it will take to get to the Jet you will earn less than a secretary for most of the time. From this will come your living costs and loan repayments. In order to get a Jet job you will need a bit of luck and might still have to fork out for a Type Rating. You will gain favour with many on Pprune who believe this is the honourable route for wannabes wishing to become commercial pilots.
2. The Integrated course direct to Jet route is still possible. You will have to pass psychometric and aptitude tests and then beg/borrow/steal £70,000+ to pay for your training. Obtaining this loan will be difficult and very risky for your future. It seems the majority of graduates from these schemes do not obtain permanent employment, but this is speculation because few would bother coming onto Pprune to carp about it. Those who get jobs will be on reasonable wages; probably commensurate with the wages earned by modern day electricians or brickies. Provided they don't succomb to flexi-crew policies and bite the bullet after 6 months, these lucky pilots will earn decent money in the future.
3. The Modular or Integrated to Ryanair/Easyjet route is now possible, and fashionable. Naturally, as with the other routes, you will have to find the money for your training. That's £50,000 - £70,000. With Ryanair you will have to get through an interview and sim check; with CTC/Easyjet you will have an interview, psychometric and aptitude testing. Sure, this is not easy, but for the 'lucky' few you get a possibility of a job flying a Jet. The cost of your Type Rating will be borne by you. With Ryanair it's by getting a loan; with CTC/Easyjet it's by having low wages. Either way, your job security is low. As with Option 2. above, you risk flexi-crew policies but have reasonable prospects.
4. Join the Armed Forces. You won't pay for your training, except, possibly with your life in some foreign field. But that's very unlikely and you'll get to fly lovely aircraft for 10 years before you get fed up with service life and want a cushy Civvie job. You're then faced with getting your ATPLs and taking the plunge into the commercial job market. Unfortunately, your prospects are not as good as they would have been 20 years ago. Unless you're lucky and get picked up by one of the larger carriers (who aren't currently recruiting at all) you will be vying for a job with a low-cost carrier who may view you as too 'institutionalised' to fit into the company.
5. Now, this is the best option but is akin to winning the lottery. You get LUCKY and a friend or family member who happens to be Chief Pilot somewhere. This could be a Legacy Carrier, in Bizjets, or with any other airline or small/regional operator. In any case, you will have to have paid for all your training at a cost of £50-70,000+ and are unlikely to be charged for your Type Rating. Will you have job security? Probably not. The bean-counters won't care who you know and you risk flexi-crew policies etc. Nevertheless, your future is likely to be lucrative once you get past the first few years of low wages due to your training bond.
So, surely we're looking at choosing an option that best fits our individual circumstances. Each newly qualified pilot has a dream to become a commercial pilot. Many might not want the RHS in a Jet. Many do. And their dream is as valid as the dream once held by all the professional pilots on this forum. The Industry has changed, probably for the worst. That is not my fault; nor is it Flying Shortly's fault. We're just dealing with our reality and giving ourselves the best chance we can.
Edited to confirm that these are just my views.