I flew recently with a new f/o (technically s/o) in my company. He has been putting himself through training bit by bit for the last 6 years. He told me he's 38 and this was his first job. His ppl, cpl, and ir were done in different countries with large time gaps in-between and his groundschool was modular!. Now as his first job he's sitting in an a320 with an internationally respected airline based in his home town!.
By contrast I joined the same airline at 18 as a fully sponsored cadet and got my a320 command at 27. What a different path we took.
I have nothing but admiration and respect for him and anybody else who remains dedicated to achieving their goal. Aviation is a wildly fluctuating industry, especially in terms of prospective employment. Timing can be crucial but if you hang in long enough clearly there can still be hope.
Best of luck to all.
p.s. i'm now 31, is that oficially 'old' yet?!
