An interesting thread on the A380 and other superbig aircraft: Big airplanes--where does it end? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board
My uncle went for the non-military route to becoming a commercial airline pilot. This was his dream since he was a child.
He made it as far as working as a first officer for a regional carrier flying a two-engine turboprop. His salary topped out at about $14,000. (This was in the early '90s).
He was married with two kids. His family was in Houston, and he was flying in Florida. His salary wasn’t even enough to cover his apartment and living expenses in Florida. He kept trying to get based out of Houston, but was unable to land a job out of there.
His wife is a senior mechanical engineer at a large chemical manufacturer, and it wasn’t realistic for her to give up her job to join him somewhere, especially at the crap salary he was making.
His job basically amounted to working as an intern for the 5-10 years necessary to get a job with the major carriers. This was after jumping through all of the hoops necessary to get the various licenses (private pilot, IFR, multi-engine, commercial, etc.), which had already taken him about 10 years. He was assisted with one part of this with some program offered by either Continental or Eastern Airlines.
He finally gave up the full time flying job after about 2 years. It just was not sustainable. He never saw his family; it was costing them a fortune; and his wife had had enough.
He now runs an office supply store. 
P.S. I had the same dream as my uncle. Based on his experience, I tried to go the military route. I was accepted into the U.S. Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy. During my entrance physical, I found out that I needed glasses. That was the end of my dream of flying.
My dreams of being a commercial pilot ended with a little blue dot… Now that dot is a 6’4" 16 year old 
There was no way I was going to raise a family on a bush pilot “salary” so the dream was put down.
Just doesn’t seem right given the difficulty of the job and the responsibility. I imagine beginning city bus drivers get more than that.
There was some movie that had John Travolta in it–I think it was one of the “Look Who’s Talking” ones with Kirstie Alley, and he was a junior pilot who drove a taxi in his off hours. I guess that really happens.
I think the salary is that low because in a way, those low-paying jobs are more like an apprenticeship. City bus drivers are more like union workers doing the job over and over again.
So part of the ‘value’ of flying a DH-8 is simply getting to fly a DH-8. You could never gain that experience on your own unless you’re a multi-millionaire. So getting to log time in a twin turboprop aircraft has immense value to a pilot, and that’s part of the compensation.
You never here a bus driver say, “OMG! I get to drive a GMC Diesel! That’s been my childhood dream!”
Plus, bus driving is a bit of a dead end. There are no ‘super buses’ that are glamorous and pay $200,000 per year. Pilots start low in part because they can finish big.