Heathrow Harry - You wonder why people work for them and suggest they get a job somewhere else.
Why work for them? Because I like eating food. I also like living between some walls and a roof. I also have a 120,000 euro of debts from flying lessons I need to clear. I'd say the average cadet leaving flying school needs around 2,500 to 3,000 euro a month AFTER TAX to maintain an adequate lifestyle (without kids to support).
So why don't I go work for someone else? How about McDonalds? Burger King perhaps? In case you hadn't noticed airline CEOs aren't exactly kicking pilots front doors down in the middle of the night, begging us to come and work for them. Trust me, most Ryanair pilots would LOVE nothing more than to go and work for BA, Virgin, Thomson, Shamrock, Monarch. Sadly those jobs are like rocking horse
these days. The only options going are the desert or the far East. 18 month waits for an interview with EK aren't unheard of, then if you pass it could be another year before you get a start date. I don't know as much about QR and the unspoken one but they all have their own issues.