W & W, most of what these people are saying is very true. I just got out of college myself, stupidly got a degree in aviation, as well as completed all of my ratings through CFII and MEI. I am currently instructing part-time for the same school, and getting by with assistance thankfully. The job market out there is very small right now, especially for low time pilots like myself.
When I first started flying when I got to school, I was blind to the fact that the career was like this. I guess maybe it's how the public perceives this career to be extremely high paying and glamorous. Well, just from reading these forums, and talking with friends, and alum it really isn't. Just take a stroll over to the pay scale section for regional pilot jobs. Had I known back then what I now know, I most likely would have considered a different career, or would have gotten a backup degree.
At the same time I feel like I may have been somewhat mislead by the hiring spree that was taking place in 2006-2007. Regional airlines were taking kids straight from school with ridiculously low times, and other places were in desperate need of instructors, it all seemed to me like thats the way things were, and that's what it was going to be like when I got done with my degree. Now many of my friends can't even find instructor jobs, and they are suffering just to get by working cruddy part time jobs they could have gotten without a college degree!
Though I must say, I don't believe that things can possibly stay this bad for much longer, I believe that in about 2 years all of this will be turning around. It seems that some of it already has started, and some people I know have gotten called back up to airlines or went off to training. I am sticking it out myself, but luckily I am not totally broke. Aviation is a huge investment, and it seems to be all about timing and luck. I love flying, so it would be hard to hang up, and for now I am going to stick it out with hopes it will get better. If you really want to do the flying thing, I'd say go for it, but keep that 50k job while you do it. You may find out that you don't even enjoy flying as much as you think.