I think personally that we sometimes forget the day in day out drudge of a 9-5 job in the real world. We also forget the state of the economy and the difficulty there is in the real world to get a decent job against the cut throat workforce and corporate greed that also goes on there. Dont kid yourself that the real world is a whole lot better, its not.
I have been very fortunate in my career so my view of aviation is somewhat rosy, but equally I realise its not the same as it was. I decided to take the leap of faith and naively left a 9-5 to learn to fly in my early 30s. I got a job in the LOCOs in the early days of their growth, pre 9-11. It was before they realised their present business model and recruitment strategy. I moved on a few years later and once again was lucky to get into what I believe is a good career job and now in my late 40s I fly LHS long haul with a good salary, pension and lifestyle. Yes I fly long hours and nights but that I knew before I launched into this career. I have no illusions about the real world though and how bloody hard my non pilot friends work and for a fraction of what I do. Yes they have weekends and Christmas off. The time I have off is generally quality time, not just crashed at home after a 2 hour daily commute bundled on a train or trudging up the motorway.
Would I do it now? Probably not because it has become a different beast. Am I happy with my choice now I look back? Yes I am. Horses for courses……