I met my cousin's 17 y.o. daughter at a wedding for the first time last year. She announced that she was going to be a pilot, and knew that I flew, so we chatted. This was slightly before SkyWest cancelled its July 7, 2008 new hire class.

I told her then the same thing I would tell anybody who intends to pursue any unique job with limited numbers of employers. Get the education / background / certificate / license in ANY other mainstream, widespread career. She was interested in nursing (her aunt is an RN), so hopefully she'll get an nursing degree and a year or two of work experience.

Any job that can be found in the average town would be fine. I know military is a backup for many in this business, but that follows cycles of political cash and wars. Nurse, cop, fireman, teacher, truck driver, EMT, plumber, computer geek, etc.