fireflybob,
May I step in again with some more thoughts?
I think the problem that faces us if we follow your (very attractive!) suggestion, is that, whereas many professionals who become fed up of their lot have sufficient recognised skills to find similar earnings elsewhere, the airline pilot (aircraft manager) is redundant outside the flight deck, both figuratively and literally. This should mean caring employers paying lots and lots of money and providing enormous amounts of loss of licence insurance, but this does not happen.
Moreover, in industry and the professions, earnings can be unlimited. A lawyer or doctor who does very well may expect to plan a career path leading to a very serious salary. An airline pilot can expect to make about £80k pa and not a lot more.
In industry and the professions, moving job is possible (frequent?) as a means of career progression. The individual moves from one job to another, taking a rise in salary and benefits and assuming more reponsibility. In aviation, the seniority system makes this impossible.
Outside aviation, it is uncommon for the individual's personal life to be disrupted by large amounts of weekend or overnight working and frequently-disrupted work planning. Yes, many professionals work long hours, but I would argue that a ten hour day in an office is not so stressful as ten hours in the flight deck and may be more rewarding. One reason for this is that the office-based employer knows his staff can easily 'walk' and will take more care of them.