Wow, it took me a while to get through all the reactions in this thread and I have to say I didn't get out of it what I hoped I would. It felt like I was experiencing a tug-of-war between wannabees and those who have experience.
I am a wannabe, turning 39 this year and just finished my CPL and CMEIR in New Zealand. After having been in a succesfull career for a long time making good money I decided if I wanted to do this I need to do it now. It has been a dream for a long time and I have thought about it for a long time (too long). Many people have told me they respect me for doing it and that they would love to something similar but don't have the guts but I know they secretly thought I was absolutely crazy.
Well now my bank account looks a lot unhealthier than it did 18 months back and my partner has followed me to NZ and is not happy here so we are going to leave preferably to a place where there might be better prospects for a flying career. Her feelings about the future are pretty much the same as mine: very very very very unsure but we are both commited to make this (and our relationship) work. I guess I'll try and get a job in my old profession to get the financial situation back on track and in the meantime look around for a flying job to get those hours up to a level at which my chances of getting a reasonable job are realistic.
Yep, it's all true. It has been hard work, frustrating, demoralizing, finacially draining, relationship destructing, depressing and the future seems bleak.........but I am glad I did it!! I will never have to look back and wish I had and I will always be able to fly and I love to do that, even if it will only be as a hobby.
Nope, I DO NOT romanticise being a pilot. I think it will appeal to me (no I don't know for sure because I haven't had the chance to be one yet) simply because I love flying. Sure, I know every job has it's ups and downs and everything can become a rut if you let it. I think you have to look at the total package (money, future career, fringe benefits etc.) and try to work out if it is what you want and if it can keep you satisfied without blinding yourself by one or two aspects like money or status.
Now to get to the point I realy wanted to make.
I think I am a little dissapointed that after reading the whole tread I am not much wiser. I started reading this thread in the hope I would find some information on how to proceed. After all you are giving information about reasons for "doing or not doing". I have read reasons for "not doing" but not many reasons for "doing" and if you decide "to do" what is the best way to go about it.
It seems there is a lot of experience out there. I understand that the guys from the start were in a similar situation to me and I would realy love to learn from their experiences.
Maybe this is the wrong thread for my trail of thought, I'm not sure. And please don't shoot me for making mistakes in English because it's not my first language.
I think this site is a fantastic idea and I hope people will continue to share their insights in the industry and their experience.