david paul - that's a nice work of fiction you've written about yourself.
People must be aware that BA is not a utopia and flying is a world away from even 20 years ago, and will continue a downward trend IMHO. But if you want to do it, and do it in the UK, this is a fantastic opportunity.
If you want to earn £ and compare yourself to your friends that are senior lawyers etc, this is the wrong career for you. It once would have been a good one, but not now and no one wants to be hearing of you having to do overtime to pay for school fees and you bidding trips to maximise allowances. You need to take stock of the lifestyle/pay that a pilot entering the job today will have, and that's not the same as a 10 year+ skipper.