Whoops, I did not realize this was a primarily british Forum. Thank you very much for the reply, scroggs. It is very fun flying the cessna 172, but I realize that becoming a professional would be an arduous task. At this point, it still looks far more appealing than any other career option I can think of, especially since I keep hearing all the reports about upcoming pilot shortages due to retirement here in the states.
Does anyone know of any US forums similair to this one where my search for information might be better carried out?