i agree the pay and qol "should be" better, but it comes down to simple supply and demand for pilots. it's terrible that a lot of jobs that require less skill and education pay as much if not more, have better qol and are more stable. this is why i think people these days realize that being an airline pilot is not as good a job as it once was and are choosing different careers. just look at the hiring boom 2 years ago, at the time there was only small movement and growth in the industry but the pool of pilots looked like it was drying up quickly. 10 or 15 years ago there was many more pilots to choose from and regionals wouldn't have to hire at commercial mins back then. just look at how many flight schools are out there now compared to 10 years ago. even the largest schools here are only barely surviving by catering to the foreign students, no average joe wants to spend 60k+ for a 20k job (if you can even find one now) with the prospects of not being home every night for your family and not knowing if your airline will even be around next year.