Hi Garrett,
I'm nowhere near where you are talking about career wise, but I am about halfway there (I'm up to flight instructor) and give you some pointers to help shape your expectations at this point in your life. It appears that you have your heart set on FedEx, that's cool, I had my heart set on a company when I started also. Unfortunately for me the company I had my heart set on merged with another company! But this is the way of things in this industry. Keep an open mind.
- I would find a job with Fedex, whatever it may be. It could be an internship. I work at United, and internships carry weight with our hiring algorithm for future pilots. It also exposes you to the inner workings of the company at the lowest level and is a great networking tool to get to know pilots.. who are doing exactly what you want to do. I did this and it has been the best decision I've made in my life.
- The "set amount of hours" you refer to are the hiring minimums and competitive hiring minimums. I wouldn't get too hung up on this because there is so much more to the hiring process than just hours. Each company has their own set of criteria they look for in a pilot candidate. Hence why I suggest getting a job there.
- I can't answer your commercial vs military question. Sometimes I wish I would've joined up after high school. Then again, I graduated almost right after 9/11. That being said, there are some guys I know who went to flight school with their GI bill.
- Get familiar with the seniority system. Your whole career and life will be married to it.
Good luck.