A good deal of who finds success in the sim has to do with the training program, the instructor, and the fit with the new hire pilot. It doesn't hurt to be proactive and try to go to a company with a reputable training program. Not all are equal... let me assure you. Of course each airline thinks their training program is the best.

I have seen a couple of good pilots work their way through flight instruction, finally get a regional job, fail out of training, and move on to other careers; people who could easily have made it if they had chose more wisely instead of taking the first job offered. I have interviewed prospective CFIs that will not get hired as a CFI anywhere no matter what... precluding any run at an airline. This is usually an attitude issue or the result of having been deluded by a ratings mill who stole their money and kicked them out the door without a job. I have seen pilots fail out of IOE at one airline who have a job at another next week and are happily flying the line safely and professionally.

In the 1500 hours I spent as an instructor there were certainly students that had invested a significant amount of time and money in hopes of becoming airline pilots who had very little if any chance of ever doing so. The reasons varied from personality problems, drinking problems, surprise-I'm-pregnant, financial opportunity, self-defeat, intelligence, immaturity, realistic goal setting, health, buying a Camero... The list obviously goes on. I think this is to say that there are some people who will not be airline pilots no matter how bad they want it. Most of these don't make it to the more advanced ratings as they seem to fall off the bandwagon somewhere along the way.

What is the actual percentage of UND and Riddle grads that don't actually get into aviation? The number is startlingly high. I think a UND grad once told me it was around 60% of professional aviation graduates don't pursue an airline job. That may be complete hearsay...

There is no reason that a competent, averagely intelligent and reasonably well adjusted person with decent social skills should not be able to succeed at the airline level, particularly so in today's hiring environment.