Blood / Sweat And Tears
Hi dani86, i totally understand where you are coming from and empathize with your situation, as i too took a change in career paths later on in my mid too late twenties and because of my age was not eligible for any grants/funding to assist with my studies.
Very frustrating for people wanting too better themselves, and some individuals in the past have told me,"I should have decided on what i wanted too do along time ago", but unfortunately we are not all blessed with school teachers that have their pupils best interests at heart, i wanted too work with aircraft from a young age but ended up doing something totally different, but that said that is all in the past.
All i can say is do not give up, i found studying for my licence financially stressful and challenging, i had no help from family or the banks (as the bank could not understand the concept of people maintaining aircraft, so turned down my career development loan, thankyou Barclays.)
It will not be easy by no means, but if you are determined too do it then you will suceed, if i can make it then anybody else with the right frame of mind can, develop a plan of action, formulate costs involved, get a part time job, week-ends for obvious reasons of studying in the week, and expect to have the social life of a hibernating shrew.
And most importantly of all, expect nothing, so that whatever comes your way will be an added bonus, whether it will be financial/educational.
Alot of people in this industry have worked their socks off too get here, and that makes us all more resilient, it is just bad timing that the industry is going through a severe correction at present,but as like most things in life, the cycle when begin too turn and regenerate, but WHEN is the 64 million dollar question.
All i can say is,alot of people including myself have gotten through too the bitter end,so develop your plan of action and implement it, some people do get bitter in this industry because companies do treat their staff unfairly, but that said i personally think it is the most rewarding career i am working within, i thoroughly enjoy what i do, and some of the people you meet on your travels will entertain you with their experiences within the industry.
And remember the aviation world is a very small one, so expect to bump into old friends from time to time.
I wish you all the best.