SkyHigh and Hindsight, you two have the most realistic views here, If a pilot has been in this line of work for 20 or more years he will have seen an appalling decline in pay and quality of life. Those who are very new may not have encountered the continuing an accelerative demise of the pilot career. At first one can be in this for the love of flying but after a while it is about money.......By the way I can name three or four airlines with pilot groups that almost to the man view things the way SkyHigh does they are just in too deep to readily leave, and those airline have 5000 plus pilots.