WHAT!?!?!?!?

Everything you post on here rings "don't become a pilot, do something else"!

I say "follow your dreams but have a backup just in case" which is priceless advice I got from my Private pilot instructor years ago. He advised I get a degree in something else other than aviation, which I did, and it was the best decision I ever have made. If this career doesn't work out or worse yet, I lose my medical, I can go out and make a living doing something else. After all, the airlines don't care what your degree is in.

If I listened to all the nay sayers that probably thought they were doing the right thing by "warning" me, I would probably be working 40 hours a week somewhere doing something I don't thoroughly enjoy, getting up every morning waaay to early and hating life.

I think some of the things you say are good things to think about, but I don't think anyone should make a career decision based solely on your "warnings". If they do, they are severely short changing themselves in life. Of course, that person may end up making more money (important but not the most important thing) and still having a decent job but they will never know what could have been. You only get one shot at life. I would hate to go through life and think what if.