Gentlemen
Allow me to present perhaps a slightly different slant on this thread. I am early/mid thirties, have been a professional helicopter pilot for 12 years, and love it. I earn £48000 per year, which is enough for me look after the family rather well, own a lovely house, and drive 2 cars, one of which is a porsche 964 convertible. My helicopter is less than 1 year old, costs 29 000 000 (that's 29 million) per copy, and comes with all the bells and whistles that you have ever heard of, and a whole bunch that you haven't. I have a guaranteed job until I'm 55 - I only lose it if I decide to leave. It's no big secret how I did this - I'm in the RAF. I am still (and will hopefully remain!) a junior officer, but am a senior pilot. I fly 300 'ish hrs per year, more than 200 of that is below 100 ft, and that includes the night flying (on NVG using FLIR backup). The flying that I have done is unbelievable by the standards of any civvies I have talked to, but standard by military terms. Hovering with blades 5 ft from a cliff, at 3500 ft, IMC, in snow, at night? Yep, easy peasy compared to operating in the Falklands.
Would I do it again? What do you think. Plank drivers - good lads, but Sooooo boring.