It all depends what you want out of life...
Hi Wilko,
The short answer is yes, there are jobs in the industry, BUT they are very few and far between and there are massive queues of newbies fighting each other for them. It is likely to stay this way for the forseeable future. Also beware that the odds of going straight into a turboprop or jet job are extremely slim. Even flight instructor jobs are a rarity and poorly paid.
However, to truly answer your question about whether it is worth doing, you need to decide what sort of person you are and what you want out of flying. If you enjoy flying then doing it for fun is always an option. You don't have to go commercial to enjoy hiring a plane at your local airfield and spending your weekends pottering around the skies and mingling with other pilots.
There are two types of (potential) pilot I have come across: The kind that has flying in their blood and is prepared to commit their life to pursuing it. Working their way up over many years from the very bottom, relocating when necessary and having no other comittments, mortages, families, partners etc because ulitimately all they want out of life is to fly at whatever cost. These people have all the time and money to spend pursuing it and may eventually get to the top. Ulitimately they have the flexibilty to take any oportunity whenever it arises, regardless of how far away it is or how poorly it is paid.
Then there's the other type: the ones that would like a 'normal' life, settle down, stable job and income, family etc The one's that don't have unlimited time and money to spend chasing a dream, that can't just up and relocate at a moment's notice. Those that don't have as much flexibility, and can't afford to live on peanuts whilst 'gaining experience'.
Pursuing a career in aviation is a life comittment. To get anywhere you have to be able to up and leave at the drop of a coin. You have to have access to large somes of money or loans. You will pay for you licence, your medicals, your rating renewals, your type ratings, maybe even your line training. These costs will continue year in, year out. It's a bottomless pit where money is concerned so you need to have a seriously good financial plan AND a backup should it all go awry. The process will also put a strain on any relationship you might be in (flying and personal life really don't mix very well). Ideally you need to keep a job going in the background whilst you're training and gaining experience.
If you're lucky and meet the right people you could slip into a sensible job fairly early on. Or you can end up with a dusty old licence, no job and no money. Remeber, we (and most of Europe) are in a recession and things aren't likeyly to pick up for some time. Jobs (of any kind) are hard to come by. If you have a job you are lucky.
I finished my fATPL nearly two years ago, since then I have been unable to secure a single full time job of any kind, flying or otherwise despite my efforts. Fortunately my wife can keep a roof over our head for the time being. But the point is, I'm £90k out of pocket and without an imcome I can't afford to renew my ratings. As a consequence my licence ratings and medical have lapsed. I can't afford to hire a small plane from my local club just to keep in practice. The result is I am not in a position to apply for flying jobs in any case now. I am now retraining with the Open University in an engineering related subject because that is still a growing industry and offers a better chance of employment. I'm not afraid to admit that I am giving up on flying now because at 33 years old, I really want to be settled with a house and family. Chasing flying is not going to bring me closer to that.
My circumstances are my own but it's just an example of what can happen. It doesn't happen to everyone but it has happened to several people I trained with. Like I said at the beginning it depends what you want out of life and how much time, money and efford you can afford to put into it. Commercial availation is a hostile, unforgiving and expensive lottery. There are other careers that offer better chances of employment and security - but you won't have an office at 30,000ft.