Am I too old to be a pilot?

With the youngest pilots being around 21 years old, it is natural to ask when you are later in life am I too old to be a pilot?
The internet is awash with stories saying that some airlines only want to hire people in their 20’s and while I can’t confirm that this is or isn’t true, I can confirm that airlines are giving jobs to people in their 30’s and even their 40’s.
At the same time we have to be realistic, for instance the British Airways retirement age for pilots is currently 55 years old. It would be illogical to plough so much money into to training at say 50, however at 40 you still would be able to fly 15 years. You would be able to fly even longer at airlines with a higher retirement age.
I am currently 30 years old, I would have loved to start my training in my younger years however it was impossible due to finance.  I did however decide to save with an aim to be able to start training in my very early 30’s. The good thing about having to save up is I have a career, I can come back to this when I am qualified to keep money coming in while I am searching for my first flying role.
Everybody is different you need to analyse your situation and work out if this is right for you, nobody but you can make that decision.
We only get one life and unfortunately many people live theirs with regrets. Do you want to look back in 30 years and say to yourself, I wish I had the determination to follow my dreams and I really regret not doing so. Or would you like to say I’m glad I took a risk, a chance, a leap of faith and followed my heart and took a shot at my dream? I know which one I would prefer.
Personally I am single, young, healthy with no kids so this is the perfect time for me.  Your circumstance may be different but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Modular training can be integrated around your current life with ease that’s the beauty of it.
Just have a Google for stories of older people who didn’t follow their dreams and now regret it. Speak to older family members and see what they say. In fact one article I read suggested as much as 50% of people regret not following their dreams. This shocked even me, it’s easy to get stuck in a career but you need to ask yourself. Do you want to look down on the world from 35,000 ft or do you want to look at a computer monitor from 9-5.30?
So when you ask am I too old to be a pilot? The answer is, you tell me, are you?
Sometimes in life you have to take a risk without knowing if it will all work out at the other end. That’s life, that’s the way it goes.
One thing I can tell you however, you will NEVER fly for an airline without your license.

Thinking of training via the modular route? Or started and still have questions? Then read The Essential Modular Flight Training Guide.