Thank you to everyone who has responded to this - either on this forum, or privately.
I've spoken to a lot of people, including family, friends, several people who have offered advice in the chat room or on this forum, and other PPRuNers whom I've spoken to on the phone. I appreciate every single piece of input I've had - everything from a simple "go for it", through to advice and other things to think about.
Many of things which people have suggested I take into account were things which I had already considered, and have help confirm that I have most of the important points covered.
But I'm especially grateful to two people (one knows who she is, the other probably doesn't, but I'll be seeing her shortly and making sure she does) who have made suggestions and raised points which I hadn't considered - so a huge thanks to the two of you!
I still have another week to consider my options, but it's looking more and more likely that I will be going for it. As Whirly pointed out, I hope to be in a situation which many Wannabes would love to find themselves in (thanks for pointing that out, Whirly - if I do come out of this with the amount of money I hope to, I will be making a substantial contribution to the PPRuNe Wannabes fund in the hope that someone else can also benefit from my good luck), and I may not get this chance again. But several people have emphasised to me that the market is not particularly good at the moment, and I will be careful not to close the door on IT.
Send Clowns, by the time we meet, the deadline for making the voluntary redundancy decision will have passed - but I appreciate the offer of having a chat, and I'll definitely be taking you up on it!
And Clive, thanks for your offer, too - I didn't realise you posted here! The book is excellent, and seems to contain just about all the info I could possibly need. A little confusing in places, but I think that's because it's a confusing subject - I'll be re-reading some parts of it several times I think!
I probably won't know whether my company will accept me for redundancy for 2-4 weeks. It could be a very long couple of weeks. But I hope to be posting here regularly in the future, and I'm looking forward to exciting challenges and changes over the next few years!
FFF
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[ 11 October 2001: Message edited by: FlyingForFun ]