Hi Tempo,
A bit more food for thought.
You're also signing up for half a lifetimes worth of shift work. With a young Family, how do you (and also importantly your significant other) feel about being absent for MOST significant Family events including anniversaries/ birthdays/ Christmas etc etc.
And on the rare occasion that you are rostered off, there's a high chance that you'll be too stuffed to really enjoy it as you'll have just completed a string of 4+ sector days including early starts and late finishes. You'll be highly susceptible to chronic fatigue which is insidious because once it sets in, you won't realise how tired you really are.
I completed my CPL/ MECIR/ ATPL subjects in my late 30's while working in Flight Dispatch (doing flight planning) for a major Australian airline, which meant that I got to interact with Flightcrew on a daily basis. Believe me, even the keenest and freshest Cadets were bitching and moaning about fatigue/ loss of control of their life due to rostering/ being pestered by Crewing to work on days off etc after about 6- 12 months. My colleagues and I in flight dispatch used to be pretty good at it too. There's nothing glamorous about getting up at 4am 4 days in a row, or spending weekends/ Christmas/ Easter at work.
Life has taken me in another direction and I'm established in a very enjoyable career as a specialist Theory instructor delivering RPL/ PPL/ CPL and some ATPL theory at a tertiary institution.
I work close to home.
I sleep in my own Bed every night.
I can drop the Kids off at School and pick them up every day.
I actually look forward to weekends because my life isn't being controlled by a bloody roster.
For the same reason, I look forward to Christmas/ Easter etc.
I'm able to have an active social life because I can commit to things on a regular basis.
My health and sleep patterns are vastly improved.
I get to fly when I want on the company purse (my Employer encourages me to stay current).
I'm only pointing out the above because I absolutely used to be like you. I wasn't going to be happy until I was an Airline Pilot.
Although flying a jet would be cool, and the extra $$$ would be nice, it's not the be and end all. Up until the 1990's, it was a career worth sacrificing a lot of things for. Up until then, you were given $$$ without having to trade off quality of life and health.
The career today offers less $$$ (adjusted for inflation over 20-30 years) AND demands a lesser quality of life paired with the risk of damaging your health.
What's more important to you?