This topic raises it's head perennially, unsurprisingly as people reach their nadir and consider their future. I can relate to it. But in fact I persisted beyond all reasonableness. Never quite giving up but no longer pursuing it.
In the end what pushed me back into flying was a truly terrible job which I quit with the intention of renewing my licence and ratings and become a flight Instructor. Yes there are worse jobs than being a pilot. I had the pleasure of telling them I was quitting to become a pilot without actually believing it too much. But less than a year later I had the sheer pleasure of overflying the building rather lower than neccessary in my employer's aeroplane.
I never did become a Flight Instructor though.
Ironically I almost fell into the job, not least thanks to several pilots who came out of the current training system minus the basic airmanship and flying skills who were soon shown the door before they killed themselves or someone else.
Since then any illusions I had left were well and truly chipped away and the job such as it is became something of a chore at times. Not to mention low paid.
But in a supreme case of irony. I find myself in a position to either give wannabees a chance or kill it for them. So naturally I come across many of the issues mentioned in this thread. This time from the inside.
I see a lot of wannabee pilots and always give them the time of day if I can but many do themselves no favours. No one wants to hear your sob story. Mine is better! Sometime they tell how long they've been looking for work and honestly you can see why.
The best candidates always stand out. There is a 'right' type of personality, couple that with the right flying skills and you have a winner and that's the problem. Some of them can't actually fly properly. It's not just lack of experience. It's the basics. Not their fault, most of the time.
There are a couple of people lined up for this year. Right place, right time for them. If they fit in they will get their chance and end up disliking the job as much as I do. But they'll have their start and if they're lucky again they'll end up moving on to bigger if not neccessarily better things like several previous pilots.
Incidentally five or six years waiting is not remarkable. Many of my contemporaries took that long or longer to get the magic airline job. It really depends on ongoing market conditions. As I see it the current situation is the norm. The days of walking into jobs straight out of flight school are gone for now. But there is one difference between them and many of the current crop. They kept flying, some as full time Instructors, others as part time and more glider towing, skydiving etc. They didn't just renew their licences and ratings periodically. They actually loved flying for flying sake.
Maybe there's a lesson in that.