Absolutely, Dozy, I was not judging or having a dig at you, merely confirming.
I am sorry that you didn't make it into piloting, it used to be a great job, but to be absolutely honest, you really are not missing much in these days of low cost. You are probably a lot less stressed, and work more sensible hours. (And you have saved yourself £120,000 !)
I was recently physically assaulted by a baggage handler whom I had tried to ask to be more careful with our passengers' cases - that he was (literally) throwing out of the hold and some were falling to the ground.
Sadly, I find that the bad days outnumber the good days now..........
Re your last paragraph, I agree. As a previous electronics engineer myself, and now a pilot, I personally think the Airbus FBW design is very good, and I like flying it. Perhaps having an engineer's brain helps?