Desk Pilot
It is risky comparing yourself to your mates. I too have mates all well ahead of me on the earning scale, and I admit until recently I thought I would catch them eventually. Now I think I will be spending a few years yet in the LHS of a T/P. However I still love my job, and on balance I still wouldn't swap. Give me a few years and I may change my mind but I doubt it.
I guess all we can hope is that, as more and more Oxford/FTE/CTC/Brookfield guys and gals bankrupt themselves in the pursuit of the holy grail that is the RHS of a jet, funding will dry up and things will pick up. That or, airlines will need more and more people and won't have time to line train guys with no experience who take 100+ sectors to get through to line check.