Well... I agree somehow with Mr. Simple.
Maybe a good idea is to go to university, study something interesting that can be a backup or a complement to your flying job, and if you are enthusiastic about flying go for gliders or PPL. It's a perfectly decent way to learn to fly and you'll enjoy it.
But... you can be never 100% sure of when the upturn is coming tbh.
What if in 2-3 years this starts to boom?
Then 2010 would be a perfect year to start.
You really never know for sure.