when you constantly get reminded that most of the guys you will fly with make twice as much money as you do, having the same rank, doing the same job. You might get even more unhappy when you see what kind of live-style they are able to live in DB, Central, Sai Kung etc and you have to live in a shoebox in Tung Chung, Mong Kog or Tsing Yi.
To me this only seems to be a short term problem, I understand that the SO pay isnt what it use to be but what about the pay 10 years from now? Are you saying that the pay for a 10 year Cathay (either your an fo or captain) is different if you were hired via cadet route or defo route?