I think, in my humble opinon that if you want to become a commercial airline pilot you must ask yourself one question:
Have I reached a point in my life where I now truly belive that if my Captain died of a heart attack and an engine fire occured I am mature, competent, composed and have the ability to instill that belief in those around me to bring a 737 home safely?
If there is any doubt what so ever you need not apply. Flying a commercial jet aeroplane is not a Playstation 2 game. My research has led me to beleive that successful Cadet applicants do not turn up to interviews in a F/O frame of mind but, instead, convince selection panels that one day they will indeed have the skills to be not only a Captain but also a valubale Senior Manager post 55-60years.
In short, I'm sure many Cadets strait from Uni have the required skills and will and have made great pilots. I just think the risk is higher due to the fact that workload and pressure in pilot training and Uni are incompatable.
This post is certainly not meant to offend any Uni students and I can only talk from my own experince. I just think a couple of years in the real world helps you to be able to answer the above question with a yes.
