Cubdriver

My mother remarried a guy who does the exact same thing, and you sound like a carbon copy of him. He got an associates degree to get IT jobs back in the computer boom of the early 80's, and did these kind of jobs for 20+ years. Last year he was so fed up with the corporate-office life he up and quit, and since then he has had no interest in any kind of work since. The guy is really fried or burnt out. He doesn't know what to do to get back into the workforce, since all he knows is IT which he can't stand, like you he is so sick of work he can't generate enough enthusiasm to enter another related field. Since he has sworn-off IT support he basically does nothing all day and lives off investments. He made pretty good money at it, but it cost him his soul. When he first quit I thought ok he will go back in 6 months, but he hasn't and isn't even talking about it.

I can't really speak to what regional flying is like; some hate it some love it and there are all manner inbetween, but you are at an age that if you do not like it then in the end you could recover from the training investment and still be ok as long as you were not married or careless about debt management. I think you should probably continue in your present job, pursue "FBO" type flight training (flight training using mom and pop flight schools), build ratings and experience for the next 5 years. Then when you are in your mid to late 20's you will be ready to apply to regionals and start your aviation career. Using FBOs will save a lot of money and help you keep down the debt part of it. Debt really matters; I would not go to an immersion academy as the above poster says because it is over-priced. At your age you have time to burn and the money would be worth saving.

As for college, it is not required in order to have a successful regional career but if you are like my father in law you don't give a hoot about it anyway. Not having it will limit your likelihood of getting a job flying for a major airline carrier, but unless you want the degree I would say don't do it. I would argue for it as a personal growth and alternate career provider should aviation ever let you down, but only you can decide if you have the interest and motivation to spend 4-6 years pursuing it. I will say that if you do decide to get a college degree that it's not easy and it takes determination, but it will change you as a person for the better. I got all my ratings except CFI while pursuing an engineering degree using a university flying club. I owe nothing on my ratings now, and have a well-paid office job which I actually like better than I think I would like flying for a regional airline, from what I can tell. Like you I am not thrilled with the corporate scene, so I continue to building hours on weekends flying skydivers and may apply to a regional at some point but it will not be one with the typical reputation for handling pilots disrespectfully. Many of them exhibit such behavior and I plan my entry into the vocation with great care, not missing out on important developing phases such as flight instructing and smalltime commercial flying.