Betsy, if you were my daughter or son, I would do everything possible to talk you out of becoming an airline pilot. The return on investment is just not there, the job is nowhere close to what used to be, financially or quality of life, and if I had it to do over starting now, I wouldn't even consider it.

Have I done OK, well I've done fair, but I've come nowhere close to where I thought I'd be today and nowhere near what my new hire class at Northwest was told once upon a time. The industry and pilot prospects changed radically from when I started until now.

If you have a marketable degree use it, if not go back and get something you can sell, hard sciences or engineering.

Sorry, I truly wish I could say otherwise, but I can't.