Maybe not so extreme as some may think. There was an airline called Gulfstream that charged First Officers nearly 20K to fly right seat. In the airline's early years, the FO was sitting in aircraft not requiring an FO at all. These pilots were not initially paid. That may have changed later though.
The fact that some will make it and others won't relates more towards the financial aspects of the profession rather than what be be implied towards the effort a person may commit.