UConn,
It is a pickle, no doubt about it. But you don't necessarily have to give up your dream. If you are passionate about flying, then keep flying. You never know what kind of doors will open up. Whether or not you should put all your eggs in one basket today is up to you, but the bottom line is that in order to get paid to fly you need experience, and to gain experience you need to fly. Two or three years from now there is no telling where the industry will be and wouldn't it be nice to have a bunch of time logged if things do turn around. But as many have said before, have a backup plan. At your age you have some time
.
That's my approach. IT pays the bills, puts food on the table, and pays for flying. I'd love to get paid to fly, no doubt about it. My wife is very supportive of my aspirations (and she makes good money
. So for now I can afford to fly, build time, get that CFI, and see what happens. Maybe I'll fly for an airline. Maybe I'll fly corporate, or maybe I'll stay in IT and instruct on the weekends and do Angel Flights or something. Who knows. But if I stop flying now I'll never find out.
If you are passionate about something by all means do it. It is quite a gift to have a passion. I know people that don't have any hobbies because they have spent so much time working that they don't even know what they're interested in (my wife is one of these people). Consider yourself lucky. Stay immersed in your passion and doors will open. It may not be the cockpit door of a 777, but maybe it's not supposed to be.
Clear skies.