I applied Oct '10, been in the pool since June '11. The goalposts have changed. I have the wrong type at the wrong time. It is now pretty much a reality I will earn at least £100,000 less than someone at the same assessment, on the same day, at the same time with the same experience.
This is nothing new. When the CityFlyer merger happened some cadets on the same course ended up about 200 places different. Some were given a course before the merger and lucked in others were not so lucky. This industry is and always has been about being lucky and being in the right place at the right time. There is no fair or unfair, it is just the way it is.