Some really interesting responses on here. As someone who has been in your position at around your age and now work as a helicopter pilot offshore I thought I’d chip in with my 2 cents.
Firstly, they’ll never be a pilot shortage as such, they may be shortages of pilots in specific locations with specific qualifications willing to work for specific salaries but to reiterate previous posts, I don’t believe there is a shortage of low houred pilots looking for work. Yes, some pilots are 50+ but there theres also lots of younger guys and gals in the industry.
Secondly any “seminar” you go to is likely to be a sales pitch for training, so the schools goal is to get you to part with your hard earned. Take what they say with a big yellow bin of gritsalt.
Thirdly, the advice I would give depends on your situation. The cost of all of the various tickets you need to be employable is going to be north of £120,000 wherever you do it. The possibility to recoup this investment I would say (with a few exceptions) only really exists in the offshore world. There are also plenty of people who hold all the right tickets whoes face just doesn’t fit offshore for whatever reason. So clearly you are taking a massive financial gamble which may or may not pay off.
Furthermore, at some point the offshore market will have a correction in size as hydrocarbons become politically an increasingly toxic hot potato. This may occur tomorrow or in 5,10 or 30 years. No one knows.
I was lucky enough to get a job offshore with the minimum qualifications but I know plenty who weren’t so lucky. I wasn’t any better then they were, just luck of the draw and timing. Like most on here, I love flying helicopters and work with some great people but if you look at the aviation industry in general and the prospects of big oil and gas, terms and conditions are being revised downwards across the board so again, no one really knows what the future holds in that respect.
Probably the most interesting flying seems to take place on shore (hems, filming, longline etc) but unfortunately the skills and experience required doesn’t appear to gel with the rewards on offer and in my experience was almost impossible to break into with minimum hours and an IR.
My honest advice would be to fly for fun (because it is fun😃
. If you have the money and feel strongly enough that it’s a career for you then speak to as many people in the industry as possible, make an informed decision with the best information you have available that will suit your own circumstances and goals.
Hope that helps and best of luck to you.