You really are in an enviable position. You have worked hard and are always going to be very marketable with an engineering degree, though it too has its cycles. If flying is truly your passion, then you know what to do. Don't let anyone stop you from pursuing your goals and it isn't about the timeline to your ultimate "goal" job, its enjoying the ride.
I went through college on an ROTC scholarship back in the seventies without any strong yearning to be a pilot. My exposure to the Air Force fixed that. After graduation, I had almost a year until UPT and worked as an engineer for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center. I hated it! It was static and the workplace social and political entanglements were BS. It was cool to be at the Cape and I was able to do and see some neat things, but the thought of 40 years of that was nauseating. Luckily, I went to pilot training and enjoyed the Air Force and reluctantly separated and was hired at a major. I am now in my second merger, one strike, one bankruptcy, paycuts, concessions yadda yadda. I still love what I do. And that is what it is all about My only other advice would be to consider medical school. After serving as a rescue pilot in the Air Force, I had the addiction to the drama and purpose of altering a life threatening situation to a positive outcome. Working in an ER would fill that purpose and reward you personally. Whatever you choose to do, it is your life, go for it and don't look back!