I could see a pilot shortage happening, with the main reason being that for a while people were content with being "bottom feeders" and I think the bottom has sunk low enough where that is no longer the case.

I go to a part 141 school that isn't all that big so I know pretty much everyone. Most kids say forget it and give up when they find out that becoming a pilot takes hard work and studying (the drop out rate is like 70%)

The rest of us consist of:
-Pilots with heavy accents looking to get their ratings and move back to "home country"
-Pilots pursuing double majors that are interested in professional flying but do not want to sentence themselves to it
-Kids interested in earning a degree in aviation to give them a better shot at getting a flying gig in the military once they graduate

Easy access to information (like this forum) expose that being a professional pilot isn't the dream that alot of kids think it will be when they get started