It's not that pilots are starving though is it. I know a couple of new FO's for locos and although their salary is nothing to write home about it's still better than working at Next trying to flog t shirts. Yes they probably have massive sums invested in getting into that RH seat but no one forced them to become pilots; you know the drawbacks and you make the choice whether it's for you or not. That's the way it is.
Back in the early 70's I used to make a good living playing in bands in clubland. You think it's going to go on forever, it doesn't. Things change all of the time, we are now and have been for some time in the ridiculous situation where bands pay to play at a venue. I might add that I got out of that line of business a long time ago.