Kelly Hopper,
I'm not sure Clanger is in it for the money if I'm honest. Knowing how much he took home prior to his ATPL and comparing that to what I'm taking home now I think he'd be better off not doing the ATPL and I'm sure he appreciates this as well. But its not just the money that drives us/him. Surely the job itslef of flying an airliner is quite a rewarding one. Granted those longer in the tooth get bored but for those in the position of paying for the TR or looking for jobs, this clearly isnt the case for the people on this forum, as they are at the begining of the course.
Also not sure how much money you want to take home every year, but I'd be more than happy with the salary of the last captain I flew with. He took home over 100k after tax last year. Now I come from a working class background but I think that is more than enough to keep me happy. I always will strive to earn more than my age (equivalent in thousands of pounds), that's what I base my success career wise upon. Other than being a Doctor, Dentist or Barrister/Solicitor there is not many professional careers you can take this kind of money home. Of course you could go off and be a merchant Banker or City Trader, but I don't want to die of stress at 40.
The airline Industry is one fo the most rewarding out there (Certainly Flight Deck) and people keep forgetting that they once started at the bottom of the Ivory tower and weren't always at the top looking down at all of us "Ab-Initio's" with such bemusement.
The Grass is always Greener and I am aware of this. But would you ratehr not be in the airline industry and be sitting behind a desk 9-5??? I always compare what I do to a desk job; in that way, climbing out of a 757 will never be a bad day.