I left school when I was 16 with no o levels or a levels. I started flying when I was 21 and ended up with 18,000 hours mostly on heavy jets and as a TRE/IRE, so it is definately do-able. The question is why do you want to do it?
What sort of flying are you interested in? If you think you are going to make money at it, forget it. The cost of finally getting a job is not worth it if you can do other things.
If you want to fly for an airline, then remember that the job has changed and a lot of airline pilots are a very unhappy bunch. Remember also that you dont fly airliners, you manage them.
There are other types of flying which are a lot more rewarding, but not financially.
Give it a lot of thought before you throw away a good money making career and if you have a love of pure flying, do it as a hobby.
Last edited by TonyDavis; 6th August 2012 at 21:03.