I see where you're both coming from, and I totally agree. If somebody asked me what to do I'd advice them in the same way.
The only reason I thought of this route was to break it up into targets.
Stage 1 PPL + Hour building - This will take over a year and it'll be a pleasure to do if not a little costly.
Stage 2 CPL + FI - This is the first 'risk/gamble'. I'm looking at a £12/£13k gamble in order to get a job as a flying instructor.
Stage 3 Finding the instructor job, and stay there for at least 18/24 months where I can build some hours, make some contacts and really enjoy the hands on flying, sense of achievement and job satisfaction from the day the student has a grin on his/her face on their 1st take off to the day I shake their hand on completing their PPL.
I'll have no time constraints and if I wish to instruct for longer I can. If I had sat the ATPL exams it would be a terrible waste not to get my IR within the 3 years of completing my last exam.
Stage 4 ATPL GS + MEIR + MCC - An expensive stage, but one that could eventually get me my dream job flying a jet (Bizjet/Airline/Cargo) maybe via a TP operator.
.... I guess in my mind I am just trying to justify the costs and lower the risk from one stage to the next.
Stage 1 will be done whether I am a Networks Engineer or looking to go down the Pilot path so I'm not looking to class that as part of the risk, and the hour building won't be just case of burning holes in the sky so that will also be 'pleasure'.
Stage 2's gamble might pay off having looked around at the amount of jobs available and looking at how busy PPL instructors are in the current credit climate.
So my only worry will be 'stage 4' which really is geared toward big jets, and if I don't get the chance with the big birds it won't be wasted when I go back to Stage 3 (Instructor job) where I could always look to teach CPL and IR and earn better money.
So the quote of
"Risking £50k Modular / £80k Integrated with no guarantees of a job" no longer seems quite as scary
Thanks guys.