The only thing average about aviation is the time between the boom and bust cycles. This industry has always had big swings, and always will. Other industries such as petroleum play the same game. Over the course of your career, you’ll most likely finish in a much better position than when you started, but everything in the middle is a wild ride. You can stay and ride it out, throw in the towel, or work on a second income stream to help dampen the boom/bust cycle. It’s all up to you.