Plus it doesn't all come down to money.
Some of us do the job because we like the job.
I turned down QANTAS 13 years ago. Had I not, there is no question I would be MUCH better off financially.
I also would have spent the lat decade and a half doing a handful of destinations over and over, while not actually flying the aircraft, just being a seat warmer with the occasional honour of climbing or descending, while my family would have had a modest but comfortable existence in a Sydney suburb.
I could by now be an FO on the 767- junior and doing crap routes, but at least getting to fly- until they get rid of the aircraft, then who knows??
None of that is bad- there are far worse ways to make a living.
What I did instead has meant living in four different countries, flying to literally dozens more, doing a lot of very interesting and challenging stuff (EK actually less than some of the European Shorthaul flying!!) and meeting a hell of a lot of interesting people.
My Kids have gotten to travel and experience the world in a much different and more full way than the once a year holiday from Aus would have afforded, and both have gotten a great education along the way.
BUT it's all cost a fortune and we will retire more modestly than we would have if I'd gone the QF route.
Still,I don't regret it for a second, it's been a blast!!
To suggest one route through life is definitively better then another is to forget there are different types of people on the globe.