Luke...
Sorry, my thread may have been slightly misleading (and no doubt a little emotive!) Agreed that ultimately it can become more attractive financially - I suppose I was trying to convey the impression that it is often (in the early years) a struggle more than a benefit, and this in comparison to other industries (e.g I.T.) where you can be waay better off in a very short space of time with a lot less grief.
Perhaps its an issue thats more endemic to Europe / UK, but what other job do you have to fork out (up to) £100K in return for a start salary of £25-30K (in some cases)?
In the UK I think its now more a case that T&C's are becoming massively diluted and the rewards aren't there like ppl think. Suppose I was just trying illustrate that to some of the "greener" forumites.
It still confounds me when I hear of guys sitting proudly in the rhs of a jet, with <500hrs (very commendable, don't get me wrong) but with a debt of £100K. Just seems like fuzzy logic.