An upgrade time of roughly two years doesn't seem so bad frankly, even with the shoddy pay and QOL. Seven--or even heaven forbid--ten years will make anyone cringe, I believe.
There's a reason why some regionals are having hardship in finding pilots. I met a guy yesterday who told me he wants to get his sport pilot certificate and would have loved to fly professionally, but he can't because of the steep cost of training and the dirt-low pay.
There are definitely folks out there who are not happy with the way things currently stand, and have already quit or not even begun to take the steps to fly professionally owing to the status quo. T'is a shame, really.