Imagine a couple of 18 year olds leaving school. The first spends 100,000 euros and 3 years on flying school and some P2F scheme, then takes up this contract at 20,000 euro pa. The second goes and gets a job flipping burgers in McDonalds at 10,000 euro pa.
On that salary it would take 16 years for the pilot to equal the net income of the burger flipper.
Now I know there are a lot of ifs, buts and variables and the pilot would have taken his command with a pay rise, etc. etc. but still that's a pretty shocking salary for an airline pilot.