Agree with you Bullet190.
However... equally, when you start flight training, you don't necessarily know where you are going to end up - certainly more mentored and sponsored schemes for FlyBE exist now, and the cadets on these know full well what the starting salary is at FlyBE.
However, when I started my training, I wasn't lined up onto any particular airline and did it off my own back. So therefore, when I started the odds were equal as to whether I was going to BA, bmi, easyJet, FlyBE or anywhere else.
As my training progressed, it became increasingly clear that my 2 options were: 1/ FlyBE and be bonded for 3 years on the Dash. 2/ Ryanair and fork out for a type rating (which I fundamentally disagree with). So really, there was no option for me at all.
It hurts me to think of the guys I trained with now, some of them are taking back £4000 a month after tax, whereas if I have a good month, the most I can look for is under 1/2 of that.
You can adapt your living styles to suit - and I have. I can just about break even each month without saving any money - I have had to make sacrifices in order to do this (part of the reason my long term girlfriend left me) - I haven't taken a holiday since I started work in this company, I regularly turn down days out because I can't afford the petrol, and I cannot do anything outside of work that I want to do, because I just quite simply cannot afford it. So you can adapt your lifestyle to suit.
However, that's not the point at all. The point is that at the end of the day, we, as pilots, should not be worrying about not being able to fill up the car, pay bills, and at the same time worry about the cost of living. Especially not with the responsibility that is enstowed in us.
Just out of interest, I'm a year 3 FO now, shortly to become Year 4. I take home, on average £1800 a month... and this is how my salary goes, according to my last budget:
After Tax: 1800
Rent and bills: -650
Flight training loan: -500
2 Tanks of diesel petrol: -150
Assorted d/ds and various other expenses: -100
So if my maths is correct, that in turn, leaves me with £400 to play with for the rest of the month. Which I can do, but it certainly isn't comfortable to live with.