My opinion is that we are looking at the beginning of the next pilot shortage. Because of all the factors mentioned in this thread, difficulty time building, training being cost prohibitive, quality of life of a pilot is crap, rocky industry, etc, the number of pilots being trained is dropping.

Right now, we are a dime a dozen. But, in time the old farts will retire and movement will begin. It'll take time to soak everyone who wants it up into the ranks, but eventually, we are likely to see a severe shortage.

Keep in mind that the population is growing quickly. There will be more and more people to fly as time goes by.

This says nothing for whether the career will ever be a worthy pursuit. But, as for raw numbers, I do believe this is on the horizon. Perhaps multi-crew training is the answer - and of course that will spell the end of what dignity actually remains.