IMO Perspective required!
I spent 10 years working in various jobs saving money to fund my licence. My first flying job was living in a caravan on the airfield... loved it!!! ... even in the bleak mid-winter when my toilet froze over and it snowed in my shower!
Why? because I got something gained from ten years of soul destroying jobs I hated, that sinking Monday 7am feeling and the relentless grind of Mon-Fri 9-5.
That thing is an appreciation that SO many jobs out there are total
and to be able to work in something you have an outside interest in is priceless. I agree the industry is in a race to the bottom and its sad, it is resulting in good guys being turned away from aviation.
Sometimes I have days on the line when I want the day to just end but whenever I am feeling really crap I just take a moment to recall all those awful jobs I endured to get here and then I am able to take perspective and appreciate that warts and all this is by far the best job I have ever had - it's my career and my vocation. The flying I am doing now on the lower rungs is my apprenticeship and when I am finally in a 787 at FL380 I will look back on this all with fondness no doubt!
That is just my opinion from someone who has really had to fight to get into the RHS. I am as a result an older than average FO but I feel much richer for all my experiences along the way, it has largely made me who I am.