If you have to do it for a year to see what it's like, then do it. It'll cost you a lot of money, but maybe it's something you have to try. I guess some people, myself included, just have an insatiable desire to know how it feels being the one on the other side of the closed door with all those gauges. However, I also think that with your UC engineering degree and the money you're making now, you'll probably realize that the glamour of airline piloting is mostly illusion and end up changing careers again.
And I'd say it's probably 15 years before the stats say you should be making 100k+ again. Could be shorter, but it's just a gamble that you have no control over.