Thanks PFF
I agree I think this has been answered and I appreciate all the responses here. It is a huge commitment leaving family and kids behind to pursue a dream and perhaps there are no short cuts in this line of work
I guess a more positive follow on from this thread would be something like “where are you now in your career, how did you get there and if you did it again would you change your approach and how” but perhaps we keep that for a rainy day
Thanks to all who responded