Originally Posted by rnfnr

Try going for a discovery flight at a nearby flight school; that should be enough to get you hooked. If you decide you want to pursue aviation further, go get a medical certificate and begin your private pilot training. Maybe check in here again to find a good flight school and/or the schools you should stay away from.

It sounds like you're already aware of the costs and the potential need for having to take out loans. You will need to be patient. Do some research and crunch some salary numbers to get an idea of how long it could take to pay these loans off.

After completing flight training, in order to build hours you can expect to work [generally low-paying] low-time jobs (instructing, banner towing, surveying, flying skydivers, etc.) for approximately 15 months give or take. That's if you have your sights set on working for an airline. Other jobs out there will require you to have more flight experience.

Remember that ultimately it will become just another job; it has pros & cons just like every job does. But I can think of some much worse ways I could be spending my time.

Good luck!