Is it worth persuing an airline pilot career much later in life when you are older?

I'm 21 in college now and can't afford flight training. I'm trying to move out from my family and get my own apartment and and get my own car amongst other things I foresee in the future. It doesn't look like I will be able to begin flight training any time soon. Frankly, I think that by the time I would be able to finally afford it, I will be much older. If I'm too old, I read that no major airlines would really look at
me and the best I would be able to do would be a first officer. I won't be getting the incentives and benefits of the company since I wouldn't have been with them long enough. Is it worth it?

Don't know what kind of "incentives and benefits" you expect to gain as an airline pilot, Skippy, but NOBODY hires to a pilot's job directly as an airline Captain. You have to work your way up by gaining THOUSANDS of hours of flying experience. Even if you COULD start taking flying lessons TODAY, it would STILL take an average of 10-15 years to gain enough flight experience to meet the qualifications to be an airline pilot. And THEN you would be hired as a First Officer.

Join the air force. Good pay, a pension and free pilot training. Many airline pilots are ex military.

If pilot hiring stays as strong as it is (and it's SUPPOSED to for the next 20 years), you can still do it when you're older. But it means you'll just have a shorter career at a major or legacy airline, since retirement is mandatory at 65 (but may increase to 67). You're going to have to come up with $60,000-$70,000 or more for the flight training and building hours and ratings. You will have to start your career as a flight instructor and/or charter pilot in small aircraft, and either moonlight with your other job, or take on flying full time (if you're lucky to find it), and probably make less money than you were before. When you have 1500 hours and passed your ATP written, you apply to the regional airlines, and they will hire First Officers as old as 60… Because they have to. Not much career potential for a 60-year old pilot at a regional though.

Your chances of being hired at major airlines start to diminish once you've passed 45 years of age or so, but a lot of factors are involved and pilots are still getting hired older than that. I'd say if you made it to a regional by the time you were 40 and a major by late 40s, it MIGHT be worth it, but at that age you may have to settle for a junior domicile, stay as a F/O and never upgrade to captain, or fill a captain slot in a narrow-body, which pays less than wide-body jets. So you do the math… Is it worth it?

"Incentives and benefits"? It's called seniority. The longer you've been there, the better are your choices in bidding your routes, domiciles, vacation time, etc. But you get the typical benefits of jump-seating and free travel, health, 401K, etc from Day 1.

Yes

Only you can decide whether it's worth it, but I can guarantee that you will be taking a major step backwards in pay for an entry-level job once you get to the point where you can afford to finish flight training. Probably better to fly for fun instead.

It is never too late