I feel the same way. Come hell or high water, I'm gonna fly something. Most of these guys say get a degree and I suspect they might be right. My advice, based on my experience as a 20-year old 121 pilot, is get your certificates FAST, as fast as you can handle. Six months from Hour One to CFI, II, MEI would be just right. Then, get into a college, it doesn't matter what college, as long as there are warm bodies walking around campus. Pick a college that has a flight school-busy airport near it and get yourself a CFI job. I know its not appealing whatsoever, however, its the best experience you can get while time-building. Now comes the easy part: Go to class, do well in class, teach people to fly. Repeat as necessary or until you have a degree. And presto! You held down a full time job and went to college. Now you have a degree and close to 4000 hours with a good deal of multi time. Time to get a job.

Good luck