A lot changes in life from the time you're a high school sophomore to the time you start a job as a 777 first officer. For many of us a constant in all of that is a love of flying, but that constant can sometimes lead to some bad decisions and a lot of frustration. So it's really important to regularly take stock of your options, but it's just as important to regularly take stock of your motives. That's tough to do when you're 46 and very difficult when you're 16. A decision to serve is a decision to serve your country even if that service harms your career goals. There are also lots of ways to learn how to fly that come with much, much less debt than ERAU. Others have laid this out pretty well.

Most pilots think pretty highly of themselves then pretend to be humble. I'm no different. I'm yet another guy pretending to be important on the internet, right? For you this means all of our views are bent through the lens of our own experiences, ambitions and insecurities. Rather than solicit us for advice, I'd suggest getting out and observing us.

Go to some local airports. Hang out and watch the pilots for a bit. Figure out what sort of aviator you want to be. Go to a lot of different airfields. Compare and contrast. If you catch yourself thinking one particular guy is smarter than the rest of aviation, it probably means you need to broaden your sampling a bit. After a year or so of doing this you'll have some really good ideas of how to move forward. More importantly you'll have some really good ideas of who and what you really want to be. This sort of touches on mentorship, but beware people who are eager to be mentors.