BB,
I beg to differ. My reading is that you'll take home a lot more than 24K. I do agree however that it should really be for the airlines to pay for this type of training, but sadly that's just not the way it is at the moment.
When the rumoured pilot shortage hits, rest assured they'll pay for your training, till then, you pay to join the club, unless you have a very good network or are extraordinarily lucky.
Splat