TC you are missing the point. When wesp is flying people around he won't be an ex-IT director he'll be a qualified helicopter pilot. What he's doing now isn't relevant to what he wants to become.
Let wesp make the decision of who he takes with him. He didn't ask for an opinion on that subject. If you know something about the schools he asked about then let him know.
As to the few who make it....of all the people I trained with who had the right attitude to their training, who invested their savings and obtained the CPL(H) the majority are working in the industry in Norway, UK, France, Trinidad, Guinea, Germany, Sweden and all over America in the offshore sector, EMS, SAR, Police, ENG and insturction.
I would obviously advocate that someone entering the industry has their eyes wide open but the chances aren't so remote as to say don't even bother. In fact they aren't too bad depending on the individuals approach. A lot of people told me it was a waste of time and money but it's always nice to prove to people they were wrong.
And as for earning $50 an hour for flying instruction...good luck with that. I earnt $18 an hour for flying and $16 for ground instruction. Still I'm on $108,000 a year now so I'm not too bitter.