Perhaps Piano lessons and a job playing in a bawdy house would have paid better with much better fringe bennies.
If I had known then what I know now....I would have finished University...gone fixed wing in either the Air Force or Marine Corps...then done a law degree and stayed in the National Guard.
But....hind sight is so accurate.
The flying life was good to me in a left handed way....lots of travel...met some great people...saw and did things most people just dream about.
The industry has made some improvements over the years....usually against its own desires....pay is better, working conditions are better, and one can almost count on retiring at some point. None of that was the case in the old days.