boofhead
There never was and will never be a pilot shortage. Every pilot fair I've been too in the last few years has a lot of people showing up. Long lines to talk to recruiters and recruiters being very selective on who they choose to interview and hire.
As for the checkride, you seem wrong as well. I know of people who didn't do well in the initial sim for new hire and were asked to leave. There are still sadistic examiners out there trying to pull all sorts of tricks to fail trainees. There are still instructors that can't teach, are not standardized and fail to adequately prepare their students to be successful for the checkride and IOE.
Finally, pilot pay, while finally coming up is still short of what it should be and has not risen to the levels of other quality skilled positions such as being an engineer or doctor. In fact, I know someone making $125K a year to sit in a room and fly drones. He has a stable schedule, sleeps in his own bed every night and is able to see his family.