I think all you respondents thus far have missed the key word/s here from the OP, .......
"in a few years after I leave school"............The kid is 15 & assuming he stays 'till 18 & then those few years in say 6 years time the whole mess we have now in the aviation game could be a lot different. Advice given now may well be useless.
'SammK' best advice I think is stay informed over the next few years, gather info along the way & not just from the few bitter & twisted that find their way here amongst these pages.
Read everything you can on aviation across the globe for we are not insulated won under in fact we are more exposed than ever these days to global changes where aviation is concerned.
Good luck try a bit of Pvt flying when you can along the way to see if it really is for you
Wmk2