Norman2
I trained alongside a chap in similar situation to yourself: was made redundant from bank manager job, early 40's, little prospect of reviving his banking career, loved PPL flying. He did as well as anybody through training, and even kept his wife and family! I would love to say he is now doing his dream flying job as he is a lovely bloke, but 2 years later there is little prospect of that happening especially considering the parlous state of the airline industry.
Of course this may change in the future, but this is a cut-throat industry when it comes to getting a job and there will always be greater supply of pilots than demand, so you can hope for the best but I suggest prepare for the worst. There is usually a constant demand for flying instructors so maybe you would settle for that as an end result, although you could not live on the pay so would need another means of earning.
Carb
I have to say that the whole ab initio cadet concept, which churns out a big chunk of the workforce and crowds out other pilots, is a very objectionable socialist idea... it of course originated in the dark ages with state-owned European airlines.
Not that this has much to with Normans dilemma, but this is such a strange idea it deserves some reply. How would you suggest ab-initio's without a money tree become commercial pilots? The whole idea of sponsorship is that it is treats everybody on merit not on how rich your parents are. I believe the practise actually started with the air force rather than state owned airlines (they only borrowed the idea). The RAF long ago discovered that younger candidates had a higher success rate in training, and that by selecting trainees who had
demonstrated achievementin school and sporting fields they were more likely to be able to repeat that success when it came to flying.
The one thing missing is effort and achievement. Any young Tom Dick or Harry with a few A levels can, for the cost of a stamp, apply to be fast-tracked into an airline job
A levels require a lot of effort, and in fact most candidates selected for sponsorship have degrees, so there is no shortage of effort or commitment amongst them, indeed those who are successful in selection and the commercial pilot training deserve praise not sniping. If as you state there is room in aviation for all types and backgrounds, don't knock the sponsored chaps, they have worked as hard as anybody.
Barney