I guess the hope is that the market will open up again at the lower end over the next two or three years in some shape or form
That has been the hope since 2006 and thousands of people have trained for the ATPL since then. Thousands have not been employed.
I was tidying up the other day and came across my modular training quote: £37,000. With extras it was more like £45,000. It's the cheapest route and, in my opinion, the most fun way to get the licence. Also, at any stage you can stop if job prospects look to to be deteriorating.
If you don't try you'll never know!
True, but only take the gamble if you can afford for it to go wrong. The odds are stacked against you. Plan to be out of work for a year at least and be pleasantly surprised if you get lucky!