This sounds just like me about 6 years ago.

I started my Private Pilot at 15 soloed when I was 16, then had to stop for a while due to time and capital restrictions. I ended up finishing the Private with about 100 hours at 19.

Now I am 21 with about 250 hours and my instrument ride is scheduled for next week. Also, I'm 2 semesters away from receiving a degree in Information Science and Technology from a New York City area University.

I can't tell you anything about what the industry will be like for you (or for me for that matter) but I can tell you my path has made me appreciate aviation much more. I started early and then got side tracked with late teenage life. After my 2 year hiatus I finished my private and then didn't do too much flying because I was too busy with a full time job and school.

I had to stop working in March to work on a large project for school. I had the intention of going back to work right after the end of the semester. Things changed and that job was no longer available and I could not get anything that was flexible enough for my school schedule. With help from my parents I was able to (pending the successful completion of my checkride) complete my instrument this summer in the absence of a job.

My point with this is this: As a kid I always wanted to fly. As a teenager and young college student with a very good job in the IT industry making a pretty good amount of money I thought why would I ever wanna fly for a living when I'm making this much money without a degree (just imagine what would happen once I get my degree...) The only problem was that I hated the work I was doing. It took me getting back into flying to realize that. The pro-side of my path so far is that I know, without a doubt, I want to fly and realized that I hated the industry I worked in. But if aviation does not pan out for me, I still will have a degree (outside of the aviation field) to fall back on (even if I don't particularly like it a backup plan is the most valuable thing you can ever have).

My suggestion for you is that there is no need to rush through you training And is is okay (and encouraged) to explore different fields to make sure that aviation is right for you. Also, I (as well as many others) strongly suggest you get a degree in a NON AVIATION field. Aviation degrees are great until your job in the aviation industry goes poof and you need to put food on the table and gas in your car. Try to get your degree in something that interests you (besides aviation of course) or at least something that you can keep you from going crazy for 4 years and has plenty of practicable applications.

Like I said, I'm only a few years ahead of you but I do hope to get a job with an airline one day. I attribute that to the experiences I had at your age. It took me doing a couple of U-Turns, a job I thought I liked but didn't, and 4 years of "college life" to realize it.

Enjoy it, what ever path you might take.