Gone is the glamour of an airline career...
The subject title says it all really.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8186690.stm
At least I can honestly say that I've never been misguided enough to think it's a life of trolley dolleys, fancy hotels and exotic locations - not in THIS lifetime at least!
In fact, I'd go so far as to say that articles such as the above are necessary as means of sifting the determined from the lazy. I’ll never forget the way an instructor I made friends with out in Long Beach, California, lamented some of his students coming from afar with $ signs in their eyes and grandiose dreams of living the life of Riley… simply because they had a piece of paper which allowed them to fly sky-chickens! 
Read “Fate Is The Hunter” by Ernest K Gann – I’ve yet to come across a better book about the harsh realities of a career in aviation. The ending is both poignant and insightful.