Its still a good life so long as you accept (and ignore) the fact that it is degraded from the heady years between 1950 and 1990, when there was a heady wiff of the exotic about anything to do with aviation and those who were involved in it.
Air travel is now as mundane as a bowel movement for the passengers and staff, so recalibrate what you expect from a career in flying and you won't be disappointed. It is now effectively a technical shift work job, akin to many others. The barrier to entry is mostly financial which you can either live with or not. Luck and timing will play their part in dictating whether you end up in a better or not so good job. Subsequently, with time and reasonable diligence you will end up a Captain with a very reasonable salary and hopefully a pension at the end of it all.
Personally, I would view a 40 year career with a LoCo as hell. To avoid insanity I would try to plan a career which takes advantage of the good things aviation has to offer. So, maybe a few years with a LoCo to get some experience, then perhaps a move to the ME or FE, but with an exit plan. Then maybe a few years doing some quality contract work (when the kids are older and you are more mobile), finishing off with a couple of years tooling round in a regional jet just to top up the pension income. Finally, retirement and a share in a nice little light a/c (or a yacht) and a holiday home somewhere exotic.
Many options are out there which will make aviation an interesting and rewarding life, even if the romance of being a pilot has largely gone. But, the happiest pilots I have met are the ones who have had a varied worklife.
All IMHO, of course!