Hey JL7,
Your best bet's to trawl through the PPrune forums, especially Pro Flight Training. This subject's been discussed extensively, nay exhaustively, in the past.
Sounds like you've got the bug, fair play for chasing the dream. But be sure to know what you're getting into. The flying market's depressed at the moment. Consequently, the pay is low or non-existent for inexperienced pilots. It might bounce back, but as ever more people compete for a finite number of jobs, I can't see that happening for a while.
As for training, you'd probably manage a low-hours ATP (Air Transport Pilot) license in a couple of years - assuming you could resource it. The difficulty then is finding a way to build hours (I stand to be corrected, but my impression is you need at least 3,000 hrs before you're employable on commercial jets). Many folks work as instructors, though IMHO, if you're only instructing to build hours, you're unlikely to be a good instructor. If/when you get enough hours, you'd probably need to fund your own type rating/s.
I costed training in my native Europe and reckoned on about $120,000 for our version of the ATP with a type rating - not including the cost of living. With a heavy heart, I decided I couldn't justify the cost, and stuck with the desk job. It breaks my heart, but it pays me enough to fly for fun.
Good luck, brother rebel.
Crepello
[Edited for schoolboy typo's]
Last edited by Crepello; 12th November 2003 at 11:32.