Hi Ben,
I can relate to what you're writing. I'm 29, in an management position at a SME, unfortunately less profitable and with much less shares than you
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While successful in my job and having a clear perspective of succeeding the present CEO in a few years, it became very obvious to me that this is not what I'm searching for. Furthermore, it's an extremely demanding business with 60 hours or more of work each week, hardly any weekends, never more than 10 consecutive days on holiday in the past 10 years and so on ...
I did my PPL 7 years ago and already thought about doing commercial training back then. Last year, I started out and now I am a few weeks away from my first ATPL theory exams. By autumn, I should have completed the practical exams. Afterwards, I want to do the FI rating ASAP.
With my company, I secured an agreement that I'll continue to consult them and do freelance work for them. This benefits the company and mitigates my risk of total unemployment. Furthermore, it should fit in well with instructing.
While you say you are aiming for the airlines, I'm more interested in corporate flying. One of my ground school instructors inherited a souvenir shop, sold it and is now Captain on a Challenger. Another one had a comparable position to mine and is now flying Citations
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So now all is set. It's of course an enormous change and a strange feeling, but you gotta do what you gotta do
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