Jim - It's a damn good question. I'll give you the simplest answer I can. No, it's not a good idea for your son to fly for a living. There is absolutely no guarantee of a job. The only certainty is that you'll be forever paying for one course after another and that your son will not be receiving an income for three years or so. And you'll be down at least €100,000 and your son may be unemployable.
Join the airforce and get the government to pay would be a wiser idea or spending the money on a house so he doesn't have to have such a large salary to live might be even better. Or do a law degree, become a plumber, an architect - anything but flying. The reason I'm so negative is that the job market is flooded with idiots who will pay for a job and work for nothing. Not until the market has expanded to the point where we have run out of cretins will terms and conditions improve to the point where a flying career becomes viable again.
So what to do? If flying is that important to your son, trade flying lessons or gliding instruction (I'd suggest the latter) for scholastic study performance. Encourage him to get a worthwhile university degree and become employable in another activity. Then he'll be in a position to pay for his own flying training and if he makes it, he'll be a better person to be with, more employable by an airline and if that doesn't work out, well there will be in aviation terms, an Alternate.
PM