Comments like these are exactly why I'm trying to get some good guidance from those who are in the industry. I am 33 years old and have a degree from Embry Riddle, and I walked away from a very lucrative career in order to pursue a career that I thought I would actually enjoy. I understand that when someone is willing to come in to your industry and work for pennies on the dollar it undermines the entire profession. Of course I would like to make as much money as possible while doing something I love, but the more I find out about the way this works the more I realize that it's probably not going to work like that.
That being said, I'm still really interested in getting advice on how to be successful in this business, and I want to do it without compromising the integrity of the industry. So, please tell me how you would do it as a brand new commercial pilot in 2016 when, by my accounts, most of the places that WILL give me a chance to fly are probably going to pay me less than the guy flipping burgers at McDonalds?