in the past 6 months that i have been looking into this I have met folks kicking off their careers who are in their 40's wife and kids in tow - and my hat goes off to them, brave men indeed. I think that for a solid career (and this is only my humble opinion) you need 20 years - 10 in the lhs and 10 in the rhs, so kicking off at 35 your looking for a solid career. most airlines will retire you at 55 - however, you can push it to 60 with others. You have nothing to be concerned about!