Phoenix,
Why is a starting rate of $64k a year (thats the amount your getting paid, yes you have to pay back your loan but salary is salary) a negative thing.
Mate, if it makes you feel better to say "I'm on a 64k salary", then good luck to you!
But when you're paying around 1/3 of it back to the company to be on an effective 40k for six years, then you're only fooling yourself.
Last I heard, rents in Darwin are around $200 - $250 pw for one room in a shared flat! Care to do the math on that and see how much money you've got in your pocket?
(Suggest you do some research on the Colgan air crash in Buffalo NY in Feb 2009. IMHO, the main cause behind the crash was fatigue. No wonder really, as both crew were paid so badly they couldn't live in the city where they were based. The captain commuted from Seattle to NY, and the FO commuted from Florida to NY.
)
Sure, you'll be flying an A320, setting yourself up for the great jet job somewhere overseas for 150K, blah blah blah...
What this really translates to is that you're about to go on a career path that will have you flying jets while living in a hole, eating 2min noodles and scrounging around the Flight Attendants stations on turnarounds looking for extra food.
Live the dream!