How spooky, I just posted nearly the exact same question in the Canadian section this afternoon. Similar sort of thing, recently hit 40, and I had the same question. I'm not aspiring to be am A330 Captain, just want to be paid to fly, I'd be happy flying private charter, medevac etc, or even regional.
I know that in Europe (where I used to live) it get's hard to get into it at this age. But During my 6 yrs here in Canada/North America, I've found there's more encouragement for us older guys to take second careers at 40. So even though this thread mainly relates to the other side of the 49th parallel its an encouraging read.