Only a lapsed PPL holder here but I can grok the love of flying part - I too grew up with pix of aeroplanes on the walls - my mum's from WWII! - and devoured Biggles Dan Dare etc.
But just following up the OP's point, what I find strange now is that the status of pilots is so much diminished from what it was - and from what little I know, so have the financial rewards, almost certainly as a consequence.
Consider what the head of a medium-sized company might earn compared to a a commercial pilot, who has so much more responsibility and arguably so many more skills. It's probably at least 3x or more.
So I just wonder for how long the decline in status, which is mirrored in the salary, can continue given that it's also a key part of what attracts pilots to the job...