I am so glad that I can answer your question first. You will find a lot of negative sentiment on this board, but I understand where they are coming from.
If you want to fly for a living, you should fly for a living. Follow your dream.
The fact is if you follow the course, put up with a little crap early on, you have a good chance of making $150,000+ a year, flying 15 days a month. It is still possible!
First, you need to do your best to save $50,000. I payed every penny for my private, instrument, commercial, multi, cfi/cfii/mei out of my own pocket. I saved up about 15k from a high school job, almost doubled that in the stock market, and worked every summer of college. I never had to take out a loan for my training! Just need to start saving NOW.
Figure you are 22 years old, fresh out of college. Spend one year getting all your licenses and ratings. Now you are 23. You start working as a flight instructor for 1 year (1 year is a typical average). I make $40,000 a year, more than some of my friends in industry. I make my own schedule, i'm my own boss (more or less), and i get to FLY FOR A LIVING.
Now you are 24, 1000 hours of flight time. Get a job at a regional airline. The pay is crap, but you will fly for an airline, gain experience. Remember, you are young, getting experience, and you have 1/2 the month off work. You will spend a few years there as FO making maybe $20-30k. Then a few years as captain around $50-70k. Not bad, you are under 30. Move to your domicile. Commuting sucks, especially if you are on reserve. If you live in your domicile, you can spend your days on at home unless you are called in.
Remember, avoid commuting at all costs while on reserve. You will not have to deal with crashpads and you will have a lot more time off. You will enjoy it a lot more.
Now you are about thirty. You have maybe 5000 hours of flight time. Over 1000 is turboprop/jet PIC. You now meet the minimums for any of the good carriers hiring now (FedEx, Southwest, UPS, etc...). Hire on, wait a few years, and you are making over $100,000, you are flying for a living, and you have 1/2 the month off.
You just need to suck it up during the hard times. If you:
1. Avoid loans for your flight training
2. Avoid commuting, especially if you are on reserve
3. If you get furloughed, go somewhere else. There will always be flying jobs. They may pay horribly, but just tough it out for a short period of time, and you will reach your goal.
No matter how bad your luck is, if you are young, you can have a rewarding career in flying, and make over $100k a year. You just need to NOT GIVE UP!