A good friend of mine works for the railroad as an engineer, and he is sick of it. We compare stories a lot and they remind me of the managerial incompetence and whip-cracking that I experience at my regional airline job. Similar work rules as well (a la RLA).

Also, my girlfriend works as a grocery store sales rep for a large food company. She works 60+, sometimes better than 70 hour weeks, and even when she gets home her work isn't done yet as she spends even more time writing and submitting orders. While she gets paid well, about 25-30% more than I do, she works extremely hard for it. And I complain about being fatigued..

I spend much of my time away from my family and friends for work, sometimes in shady hotels in places that I would never even consider visiting on my own time. I wholeheartedly agree that pilots are largely overworked and underpaid. However, I think that ANYONE that works faces this situation. Pilots are not alone in this regard. But we do have the forums to be able to b**** about it!