I think it's fantastic that the barrel is being scraped. It's the only thing that will raise pay and QOL. The airlines only pay what they can get away with and for a long time there have been lots of applicants lining up to get punched in the face in this business.

There's no reason for most young people to choose this line of work when they can get a desk job for $40,000 straight out of college. I have mentored many a young pilot, but I have chased away just as many. For the select few, this industry can be lucrative. It's like baseball, though; most of us sit in the minors waiting to get called to the majors. Some make it, some don't.