Gugnunc,
Well you know I sat on the fence for a few months with two options: buy an old 172 or go do that ATPL course.
Eventually I decided to go for the ATPL course as I knew if I bought an old 172, 3 years later I would still be scratching my head now wondering what if I had done that course? At least I know now.
You are right about that infinite supply of eager youngsters. I read a survey carried out by GAPAN a couple of years ago about airline's preferences regarding age and it makes for sober reading if you are over 30. I don't have it handy, it's out there on the net somewhere, but the airlines who replied pretty much stated they were not interested.
It's not the entire story though. Since the report was written in 2003, two of my 35 year old ish colleagues from Jerez have landed jobs in Britannia and Ryanair (after looking for 2 years flat out). But the report and their experience confirmed two things for me: unless you have connections + a lot more than 200ish hours under your belt, your CV will never land in front of the right person in a receptive mood.