Working in the aviation industry, surprise surprise, puts one in the way of interesting/ cheap/ free/ remunerative flying. A guy with an engineers license will be offered cheap flying in return for work on aircraft or be well paid for said work. I suspect a chief pilot would be more impressed with a PPL/CPL , an engineers license and a degree in aircraft engineering than a PPL/CPL and a degree in sociology.
Try the University and University Air Squadron route. Join the ATC first.
Mike W