One of the funniest moments of my time in CX was when an A scale ( well ex A scale now ) training captain told me how fantastically happy he is that his son got into the cadet scheme!!
Most of them have completely lost touch with reality. Most senior captains who never did time as an SO, never made less than FO salary and never lived in anything smaller than 2000 sg ft are utterly incapable of even imagining the lifestyle sacrifices new joiners are/have been making.
I know we all say these types of things but if you love flying it is still a great job. Don't they say do what you love and you will never work a day in your life? Perhaps some people still believe in that.
In chatting to people who want to start flying I always find myself starting to try and turn them against it before I suddenly ask myself what would be a better job to recommend? I honestly cannot think of one unless of course you don't mind working 9-6, 5+ days a week in a cubicle....in which case yes there are plenty of better jobs than flying.