Thanks for the perspective Ian. I find myself in a similar situation vis-a-vis the professional flying route. I have learned a lot about the professional flying business which, quite frankly, I had no idea about on this site. JC as really put a reality check as far as how things work in the professional aviation world and I am glad that I got to learn about these things at this point of my aviation education. I just ordered a copy of "Captain" (from the link on JC of course) since Doug described it as an excellent book on what "paying dues" meant in this business.
In the meantime I am enjoying flying my Citabria and working on ratings and seeing where that goes. I may not fly for a living but will keep flying for as long as I live (well, for at least a good chunk of how long I live!).
Great perspective which provides a good mix of experiences for people to read and learn from.