Semi Skilled or Skilled?
The problem is one of perception. The general public is the 1950's through to the 70's regarded anyone who flew aircraft as a bit special. The golden years of a new and romantic industry in a time when Travel was something special and largely done by only an elite few. From there on we have become regarded as arrogant and overpaid in the 80's and now, finally, as little more than an overpaid train driver. The last, IMHO, is down to the impression that we do little other than stare at the screens and read the newspapers, automation has damaged our reputation by making the mundane part of our life, flying from A to B, appear easy, which it is compared to a pilot of the 1950's. But, on a dark and stormy night, with a failure and little excess fuel we become the highly skilled professionals that the public rarely hear about.( Capt. Sullenberger being the obvious exception) And we are worth a darn sight more than we are paid and deserve a darn sight more respect than our employers regularly show us.
It doesn't matter how OFTEN you have to use this skill, it matters that you have it ready when it is needed.