Career change possible?
Here's a question and a half.
I've had a CAA PPL for 20 years (about 400 hrs) and always managed to convince myself that it was never the right time to try to qualify as a professional pilot.
However after 22 years working in IT - I am heartily sick of working in an office and staring at a screen all day. I've always had a strong interest in aviation and regret not making it my career.
My employer is looking for volunteers to take severance and if I left I could so with about £50k after tax. But I am now 43 - is it worth considering a career as a professional pilot or not? I live near Gatwick but could move anywhere in the South of England.
Since my current job pays well, I don't want to end up wasting my time and money if I will just end up unemployed due to ageism or whatever, in the airline industry. I do have a wife and two kids so the responsibility does bear heavily.
So would someone like to offer an opinion on whether I would be able to get a decent job at my age, as a professional pilot and how much it would pay?