Real Quickie - Yes /No Advice

[MainDude]

It's all about attitude...

Llen,

Your story sounds similar to mine 2 years ago:
- good job in financial industry, working as CA in big 4
- am turning 35 this year
- got divorced, but still had enough money to finance bulk of the training
- did PPL in SA, hour building in Florida & a bit fun flying in UK & Germany

Here's how I did it:
- continued working while doing ATPL exams
- tax laws allow a person to offset training costs (makes a huge difference)
- took a 6-month 'sabatical' from my job to do modular practical CPL/ME/IR
- after training, found a job with an airline, but I had to pay my own 737 type rating. Having a good credit rating from previous job, made financing this bit over 5 years no problem.

Some tips:
- keep your job as long as you can, and keep yourself flexible to going back if you need to
- maintain your good credit ratings/overdraft facilities as long as possible
- avoid the large pilot pools of the English speaking world such as UK, US & Spain. Training & job hunting in the remaining European countries if far less competitive, as it's not in their culture to take such large risks with their careers/savings. Think: the higher the barriers to entry, the less the competition
- keep an open mind to jobs, languages, countries etc. There are many biz jet companies hiring in Central/Eastern Europe. None of these are advertised, you have to hunt for them.
- keep your training modular - if it doesn't work out, quit before you've spent too much
- shop around, but don't underestimate the value of a flight school with a good reputation. All ATPL's or TR's are not equal.
- brush up on your social, networking and negotiation skills
- learn an additional language (or at least commit to)
- believe in yourself

To sum up:
- as a finance guy, your risk is minimal. You'll still find work even if this whole pilot thing fails. Airline managers, flight dispatchers, ops etc. are also paid well. ATPL studies wont hurt your prospects of doing something in the airline industry.
- you only live once, so imho, go for it!