Completely agree with you spacemantan,
I joined the RAAF the same day my schoolmate started a comparable civil aviation degree. He's getting a bit sick of flying for peanuts on shark patrol/skydiving/camera flights to get his hours up, 6 years later.
I'm having the time of my life as co-pilot with job stability, a set progression and the excitement of the unknown that comes with flying my platform.
As for ADFA vs DEO, I think recruiting were right to push me towards ADFA straight out of high school. It provided foundations in general military knowledge and attempted to instil in me the maturity required to be a good officer (which is what you are first, and a pilot second). Not that the average pilot's course maturity level is too high...
Good luck to Avalanche, Name With Luck etc, I wish I'd read this thread before I fumbled through recruiting a few years ago!