I left the RAF over 5 years ago after being a frustrated pilot in the back for nearly 20 years. I became a flying instructor and after 500 hours instructing I got a job as a turbo prop pilot which was a great way to learn the craft. After a couple of years I joined my present company where I see myself staying for the rest of my flying days.
To start with I would strongly suggest if you are going to do it then read very carefully the JAR licencing rules that cover the length of validity for your ground school and flying exams. Make sure you do not fall foul of exams that you have already taken becoming void because they have "timed out". Then get your finances together. You really do need to plan the timing and finances very carefully, there are so many people who run out of time/money along the way. Ideally you need to start 3 years before your exit date so that you can work through all the groundschool and flying tests whilst still in the RAF ending up doing your IR during your resettlement period.
As has been said by others don't be too ambitious as to your ability to retrain at your 38 point. There are people of your(our) background who are failing to get on line with jet operators. I am now on the recruiting team and we are begining to see a higher failure rate from second career DEPs as present strong recruitment demand means some pilots can jump straight into higher paid jet operators as their first job rather than take a more cautious route through a Turbo Prop operator.
Make sure you have the support of your family as there will be signicant sacrifices along the way.
The industry is very fickle and can turnaround in a matter of a few weeks yet you have to plan your training 2-3 years ahead of your exit; so much is down to timing. T & Cs are becoming tighter for all operators so it might not be the lifestyle you hope for. Your background will help you stand out on paper with your application form and interview. But remember all the company want is as near a certainty as possible that the person in front of them will pass the groundschool/sim and get on line without requiring extra resources.
I am trying to give you a balanced picture.
Best of luck.
PS. Do I regret leaving the RAF and becoming an airline pilot....not for a moment.