Surely the answer to the question is that, for all the bleating about the slide in T&C's, the reality is that people are still queuing up for the shot at a career in the industry because, over the long term, the numbers still stack up in favour of the gamble....
As for being grossly overpaid, UK pilots, legacy or otherwise, are pretty poorly recompensed compared with our major European counterparts.
Is the strength of French Unions in comparison to our own to be applauded or lamented? Discuss.
The argument, however, that, because the required skill set for being a pilot is so basic, one ought not to be paid much, doesn't really cut the mustard though. Have a look at the required skill set for a Stockbroker.
That said, I think the wheels at BALPA are finally starting to slowly turn in this respect. One of the greatest threats to our career these days is the issue of cross-border employment that affects all of us, whichever airline we work for....