Communication
It is not possible to get the gist of flying a big passenger aircraft to Antonov. Without him/her experiencing the big worrying stuff, how can he know why those folks get paid so well. The scary episodes always stay with you, both to learn from and to remind you. There may be another one in a few minutes or a few years. Along with plenty of the usual stuff he refers to.
That is where we earn our crust. And it is rarely as usual as it appears.
But for those who are not successful in gaining a right-seat job in the airlines, he/she is right. There are many other great and demanding jobs. No issue with that. hard graft, skills, no public recognition, unsociable hours, etc. The nub of it is; who gets the glory, the money and the girls? General perception....pilots. They also get buried with their mistakes, or sometimes end up in a Greek jail. But they carry the can. And their skills are generally as high as anyone else's.
It is the way it is.