Well, i'm a total newbie to the bunch here, and i read the first 6 pages of this post, was burned out after that, and thought i'd chime in. The post actually has a lot of good information within it, whether this information goes with what the original individual was looking for however, is a different story.
I've heard several times on here that "you didn't get into flying for this did you?" But the real issue here is that we all got into flying for different reasons. Some of course wanted to be military pilots, some fly heavy metal, some corporate, others instructors for life, and the list is nearly endless...Flying is basically what you make it, thinking that because one individual decides he cant make a "comfortable" living off 75-90k a year in comparison to another individual who has hopes of making 190-350k a year basically tries to stereotype all pilots into one mold, which given the various facets of the aviation industry is truthfully insane, as pilots don't always fit one mold.
The normal truth between all professional pilots are certain traits, however, these traits are ocassional hit and miss, and not everyone possesses the same desires. To some, a ferrari is needed, to others, an F-150, to some a piper cub, to more a lear jet (personal transport for both)...
When you notice people getting upset on the forumn, i think this has as much to do as them not "fitting" with the stereotype and being offended by it as much as it does for them being offended by the thought that they're "standard of a nice QOL" is less than someone elses, and is seen by others as insignificant.
No job has perks that are 100% appealing to the masses...To some, loading cargo at airnet while they build some jet time to get that corporate job they want is not an enjoyable time, especially when it's raining and you forgot your poncho. To others, dealing with the fat chick on the RJ who thinks your an alcoholic isn't considered enjoyable...When i was a kid, my mom did background checks for the military fliers in St. Louis' Air Guard. I used to hear about the pilots day in and day out, got to meet a lot of them, etc...would also hear of the pilots she'd interview who were both guard and UPS/FedEx or a Major, and it seemed like fun. I personally, wanted to fly fighters, realized that wasn't going to happen, so thought i'd fly airline, that still might happen. Do I need to make 150k a year to be happy? no...do i need to make a living? yes, and do i need to enjoy what i do? yes....
As far as other majors, it tends to be from my experiences that the majority of people who major in something different and try flying " on the side" tend to either ditch their flying efforts eventually, or simply fall behind or miss out on some of the more interesting things you learn in an aviation set degree field (simply my experiences). While what you major in isn't exactly the most important thing in the world (especially for an airline or any flying job) it normally isn't the most important thing in the world for the majority of jobs. Experience however is....There are certain fields however, that would enjoy to see a background and education based in their fields, engineering is normally one of these job titles requiring an engineering degree. A business degree, while very universal, isn't necessarily any better than the aviation degree, as its a very oversaturated market...next, you need an MBA to be competitive (unfortunately, everyone knows that, and everyone is getting an MBA also). I've met plenty of people with MBA's and business degrees that are both unhappy and unemployed, same for many other degree fields...a lot if luck, and in this day in age, try to find something you enjoy and do whatever you can to make money at it...if you enjoy money only...then aviation may not be the career that you choose, way to many ups and downs to be considered a stable money maker position.