I wish now I'd done law or medicine .......
Aldente it doesn't have to be a miserable life - many of us are
into commodities and Forex, which is not only breathtakingly
interesting but gets you a life outside the damn cockpit.
Airline salaries are crap nowadays as you know. Commodities
and FX takes a good deal of time to master, but in the end it
does one well - I'm making (on average) my current pay as
captain, thus doubling my salary so to speak. The beauty of it
is that you can effectively trade online at home, on overnights
and even during transits.
Both activities require the hands-on approach on a daily basis
to be financially effective, so don't be so quick to pick up the
phone on a reserve day.