Hey Elliot,

Wow you remind me of ME.
If you are so passionate nothing will stop you, so don't let some crew who is probably having a bad day or tough time with his company (paycuts/pension), hold you back. I say pursue it with all you have and just keep going, you will face a lot of hurdles but just keep at it.

I do want to say something very strongly
DON'T, I repeat, DON'T major in something where obtaining your certificates is part of your credits/degree. I mean dont major in professional pilot, major in whatever it doesn't matter, ex. aviation management. I say this because I learned this the hard way. This happens to so many students and then they get stuck.
As far as carrer options, there are too many. The Aviation industry is too vast. You can do anything--- flying itself is ony a small fraction.

Hope I was helpful