I think we are getting off track here. No one said they would rather drive trucks than airplanes. Also, the level of cost, training, skill intelligence and responsibility of being a commercial airline pilot in 121 does not compare to driving a truck. You know what else is hard work? Farming and digging ditches. The point is not to compare the jobs, but to compare and contrast what the industries are doing to attract employees.

I've been working since I was 13 and I had another career before aviation. I STILL think the job of regional pilot is ridiculously underpaid for what it entails. I think the regional airlines are wasteful and badly run. I think the whole US airline industry is sclerotic and needs a massive colonic.