Hi Robo, welcome to Pprune.
I did modular training in the same order you mention. I’m also a career-changer, and while my degree made no difference in finding a first job, I’m sure the life-experience helped. (For example, many interview questions these days are experience based; i.e. “Tell me about a time when . . .“. It stands to reason that an older candidate with a bit of life experience will have more to talk about than someone who went straight from school / college / uni to flying training). Your military experience will certainly do you no harm.
It’s nearly 10 years since I was looking for a first job, so I may be out of date, but I don’t recall any airlines that accepted modular candidates requiring either a degree or ‘A’ levels, however, I stand to be corrected. Cadet schemes are a different ball game, but even then I’m sure that academic requirements are used as a filter to bring down the number of applicants as much as anything else.
IMHO, timing is far, far more important than qualifications when it comes to getting a job. I was extremely lucky and passed my IR just days before Flybe opened recruitment, and that was just a few months before the financial crash. A year later there were no jobs and airlines were going bust . . .
The good news for you is that (a) you’re still young and have loads of time on your side, and (b) with modular training you can adjust the pace of training to suit the job market. It’s not an exact science, but qualifying when the industry is in a healthy state will make your task so much easier. And don’t ever believe flying schools that tell you the best time to train is during a downturn – they are just after your cash.
One other thing – your location. I’m assuming you speak weegie,
but even if you’re from one of the drier parts of Scotland you’ll likely have an advantage with Loganair. They like locals as you’d be less likely to leave for a shiny jet job down south at the first opportunity.
Best of luck!