I really dont wish to discourage a keen guy such as yourself, you are just the sort of person that the industry USED to require and would help to train, but the industry is in a very different position these days. With the recesion, EASA "level playing field", airlines de skilling jobs to give mechanics more cover, outsourcing to cheaper countries and the ever present cost controls in every company trying to force down wages, terms, and conditions it certainly does not on the face of it appear to be a career to aspire to. Many of the people I work with are trying to diversify OUT of the industry!
The aviation sector however does have some special power to attract people with an interest in aviation despite all the drawbacks, and I suspect you may be counted amongst them. If you
really want to do this then of course you should do it but you must be aware that it is going to take a lot of time, money and sacrifice to achieve and may well not be worth the candle.
When sometime in the future you find yourself with your arm down a toilet waste pipe at two in the morning, at risk of redundancy,under constant pressure to do more with less, with diminishing money in your pocket you might well ask youself what the hell you were thinking of.
My advice would be to choose an easier, cleaner, better paid industry that allows you a social/family life and sate your aviation appetite through hobby flying/ maintaining / building aircraft or whatever.
But then again i am a pi**ed off, miserable ,cynical, engineer at the moment. Perhaps it will pass.
Best of british luck to you anyway.
