It's bloody hard !!
Your girlfriend will probably leave you if you love flying more than her.
The old adage, "My girlfriend said if I went flying one more time she'd leave, Geez I miss her", is very true.
You are competing in a highly oversupplied market.
I don't think age is as important as supply and demand.
The age requirments seem to swing in round abouts.
On the bright side if you have the burn and get in with a good operator and they are around. Go for it !!