Very sound advice Genghis!
As an 18 year old with a PPL(A), I cant emphasise enough how valuable the whole experience was. It took me three and a half years to gain my PPL, having starting the licence at the tender age of 14. It therefore reiterated the sense of motivation that I had when embarking on the start of the course. Aptitude was also found in the very early stages of my PPL. It also gave me an immense realisation of the sorts of pressures professional pilots go under from day to day, especially when performing my solo cross country under some very trying conditions.
I now feel a lot more prepared when it comes to professional flight training, and firmly know it something I want to do as a career. I would like to add however, that if you are thinking of applying to one of the airline mentored schemes then it is quite crucial to keep your hours low after the completion of your PPL. BA's FPP had a guideline of 100 hours total time being and absolute maximum, however some MPLs have definite cut off points for applications.
Hope this helps.
Last edited by Shawrey; 5th Jun 2012 at 10:51.
Reason: Grammar