Hi Mike,
I've been flying for about 10 years now. Best life-changing decision I ever made, so if you want to do it, go for it.
As for the career seminar, is it free? If so you might as well go along and take a look but my advice would be to shortlist a few training organisations and go and visit them. You need to see them in action. Talk to the instructors, talk to the students and most importantly find out if they will give you a job once you have qualified. Are they busy? What is their fleet like? There's no point spending the money if there's not much opportunity for you once you are qualified and a busy school will help you progress much faster. It's also worth finding out if they have an AOC so that you can do charter work. Most operators prefer to use pilots they have trained themselves, particularly the case with flight instructors.
Don't part with large amounts of money upfront unless you are training intensively and you've checked them out on companies house. Find out as much as you can about the company - who runs it, what their history is, what their plans are for the future. Both the companies mentioned above are well established and have been around for a long time. It's a big decision so take all the information on board and go in with both eyes open.
Good luck!
SD