my point was, 25k is a very good starter salary for an engineer for example. Sure you can earn more driving a cab. You can earn more working in Macdonalds! The difference is, similar to the aviation business, when you enter engineering as a graduate, you effectively know nothing and the employer has to educate the graduate to understand how to apply their knowledge to their activities and once completed, usually over a four year period... the big bucks roll in.
Also, surely the terms and conditions being whispered around are based newbies to the job? Another feature of engineering which I suspect is shared with aviation is once you are away from the trainee bracket, you never discuss money or conditions. You could have two guys doing the same job in the same office one earning £30 an hour, the other earning £60 or more. Is this the same in aviation and are pay and conditions partly down to the individuals skills and personal attributes?