Everyone now expects to fly half way round the world for a tenner. This is thanks to the rise in Low Cost airlines. This also means however that there are more people flying so more aircraft and more jobs. Yes the jobs pay less but that is due to the fact that the public expect to pay less for the flight than they do for the airport parking, duty free etc.
Its good to cry out for tougher selection criteria once your in a nice job. Everyone needed a break to get into this industry.
Like it or not aircraft have become more automated and more reliable, this means the chances of the pilots having to save the day in an emergency with their skillful flying are now very rare (Thank god). Many of the passengers know exactly what the pilot is doing as they do it on their flight sims at home. There is no mystery about it anymore.
12 months can see you fully qualified to gain employment as a pilot, you could then spend most of your day monitoring the FMS, autopilot etc. Yes, there are many negatives and T&C's are declining but this is happening in all industries. (How long do nurses train and how much do they get). Many people I see on here have never done any other job. Go to any industry forum and you will see the same kind of debates about declining T&C's etc.
Im am afraid to say if you long for the days when people admired the pilots as they walked through the terminal and every little boy wanted to be one then you are going to be dissapointed. Those days are gone and never coming back. It doesn't boother me at all when people refer to the role as 'glorified bus driver'. It is actually quite true its just many people don't like to admit it.