Atomic,
I had the same conversation with a mate of mine who was wondering whether to go for it all guns blazing and land that lucrative first airline job. There are a few who do not get you to pay for a type rating such as Flybe and bmi regional for that first job. However those companies are looking for someone with a little bit of commercial experience first. During a feeding frenzy airlines will just about hire a monkey with a licence, but at the moment I don't think those times are now.
As the saying goes, do you feel lucky ?? Of ten guys I trainined with back in 2001, I'm one of a few who got a commercial job. The others part time instruct or packed up their bags.
Your family will suffer a bit, if a career in the airline industry is your goal, be prepared to sacrifice many of your weekends. Annual leave can be a bit of a lottery and you might not get school holiday time off.
As for the money, a tube driver gets more than me. F/O salaries are pretty dismal.
The job though is great fun, great people to work with, interesting places to go to and the flying although mostly autopilot is still very challenging.
Good luck with your decision
Jenson
