Becoming a pilot has always been a long term view job. Even longer than Doctor (who will make quite a bit more money but have quite a bit lower QOL).

Yes you'll have to spend many nights in crashpads if you commute. If you are on reserve for say 6 months you're looking at (at most shops) being gone either sitting in the pad or on a trip 18 days a month.

There is no way to sugar coat it. The job is 100% travel. If you aren't prepared for that portion of the job, being an airline pilot isn't in the cards. You can keep asking the same question in different ways over and over and that won't change the job description.

The difference is nowadays most shops are paying low $40's to start with some hitting close to $60k your first year. That is a HUGE jump from where things were just a year or two ago.