The perpetual 'Am I too old?' thread

[Danak95]

30 year old - business owner - is it realistic?

Hi all -

a few weeks ago I turned 30 and had a serious conversation with my father about where my life is heading. We talked about how I’ve spent years chasing income, running a business, working 7-day weeks, and that maybe now is the time to start chasing dreams instead of just financial goals.Becoming a pilot has always been a dream of mine. I’ve finally reached a point in life where I can start exploring that seriously.



I know there are hurdles ahead, as I’m sure many of you have faced too. I’d really appreciate some personal perspective on the following:



1. lack of formal education ​​​​​​​
Mathematics comes easy to me in comparison to other subjects

1a)
I don’t have any formal high school education, though I have basic maths and English qualifications from an apprenticeship. Is that enough?


1b)Would you recommend I take GCSEs or A-levels in maths or physics? Partly for personal development, but also for future CV credibility?


1c)
due to a low level of education, I’m hesitant on my learning ability - and honestly haven’t been the greatest at learning from apps or textbooks. Is there other options people have tried, that they’ve found works for them? mixing different ways to consume the information?
​​​​​​​


2. life/lifestyle change
currently working extreme hours, but compensated very well.

2a)
has anybody spent (for me) 7 years of their life building a business, getting to the point of “success” (local market leaders) and switched over to being a pilot?

2b)
how did you (or somebody you know) deal with leaving behind a really challenging and demanding lifestyle (24hr phone calls etc) to becoming a pilot, did you feel the pilot lifestyle could replace running a business?


2c)
has anybody got to the airlines and felt, it isn’t what you expected?




3. Opportunities, future and advice
With current life commitments and work commitments I plan on 3-5 years to get my ATPL

3a)
is a healthy income realistically possible for somebody who gets a frozen ATPL at approx 35 years old?

3b)
I currently have 3 flight experiences at different companies, 2 at a local airfield to me, and 1 further afield (approx 1.5hr).
what should I be looking for,
and is a company reputation important for the CV?

3c)
Although always paying a keen interest in the matter, I’m not as informed as I would like to be, do you have any advice that you think I should know, that I haven’t asked?



I really appreciate I’ve asked a lot of questions here, but it’s a serious decision in my current life.

if you are able to just respond to one of my points, I thank you, and even if you’re just browsing, thank you for taking the time to read my questions.




** edit -

I am located south east England

have not started just yet as currently getting some medical stuff sorted out before looking at a class 1 medical, and want to have a few different days with different schools to see how I feel.