Students fork out not far off what it costs to get a CPL/IR over 3 or 4 years to get BA/MA degrees
Not exactly- students take out an unsecured loan which doesn't have to be paid back unless they're earning >£21,000 per year. Monthly repayments of between £30 (based on a £25,000 salary) and £292.50 (based on a £60,000 salary). The idea that tuition fees are expensive and unaffordable is a myth, university is still a bit of a bargain, especially with the maintenance loans and all manner of available grants and bursaries. In the UK at least.
I had the flying dream, and I've enjoyed my PPL training immensely, but nowadays I suspect that if I ever find myself with £40k in disposable income in the future I'll have bought a share in a Chipmunk and an Austin Healey 3000 long before considering a CPL/IR and a shot at a flying career. A fun job no doubt but for me personally not currently worth it owing to the preposterous cost of entering the jobs market, the immense competition and the apparent continuing industry race to the bottom.
I suspect wannabes will still throw themselves headlong into all this silliness, because from personal experience it's so easy to catch and transmit Epaulattes Syndrome and be blinded from reality by dreams of big sunglasses and telling everyone you're an airline pilot. ES also creates an inescapable underlying feeling of 'I'll be one of the lucky ones'. I should know, I suffered from it. 17 year old males are particularly at risk from catching it, and that's my take on why glossy brochures and flashy websites work so well for big FTOs.
Just my 0.02 as a self-confessed wasgonnabe.