Or he can take his degree, make tons of money, and fly for fun! Just as well, get the job, save up some money, pay down debts, and start building your hours as the cash comes in.

There is no right or wrong way, things will change before you can acquire the hours required anyways, so just keep your options open.

This! Or all of the above. Get a job in your field, continue getting your ratings on the weekend including your CFI, join the ANG to get some quality heavy or fighter time, instruct on the side to build hours, and build a massive war chest to help you out during the lean years. When you are completely financially ready and have built a good, well rounded resume by your late 20s, then make the jump to aviation full time.

Or, you could join the Air Force base flying club and fly.

Seniority is everything. Someone who gets their name on a list at 25 will probably have a better career than the person who gets their name on the same list at 35 even though the 35 year old still has 30 years of flying left.

I'm not saying to not enjoy your life and career path when you're young, but I do think people need to keep in mind how much seniority will affect their entire life.

This pretty much sums up my entire thought process... thank you rcfd13. However, like I said I am still going through the options I have available to me. I just really want to hit the road running in my CAREER which doesn't mean I won't enjoy my life outside of flying. I have a college degree and essentially instead of going for my masters or MD I am going flying :] so why not hit it hard because I was going to do that on another pathway, why not aviation... This is what I've waited for since I was a little boy and my dad flew me around in his antique BC-12D Taylorcraft :)

I am trying to stay somewhere realistic about my thought process... I REALLY want to get hired onto a regional by 25 (I'll be 23 in Nov.) and then I would like to be at a Major Airline by 35... Is this somewhere realistic?

I think anyone getting hired at the RJ's now has about 10-12 years of guys ahead of them in experience for the majors to hire. Might as well do that 10-12 years doing some more exciting flying in the military.

Again, when discussing the Guard/Reserve route, he can be at a major well before his mil commitment is up and definitely before his age 35 goal. More like 5 years from now.

One possible reason is because of the exaggerated COSTS of "hitting it hard" and the financial results of that accumulated debt versus paying for it over time and coming out with little to no debt.

Totally valid point. The Guard is the best gig going.

Getting hired one month after someone else can literally mean the difference in riding the gravy train to the top or getting furloughed and starting over. Remember the 3 S's. Seniority Seniority Seniority.