Chris
You might some useful info and contacts on here -
http://www.youngeagles.org/careers/ Also, have you tried finding your local EAA chapter? Go to
http://www.eaa.org/chapter/chapter_locator.html to locate the nearest one. If you go along to one of the chapter events, you will find plenty of neat people willing to give you advice and help you with looking at all the options available for a career in aviation. Remember that a career in aviation covers a huge variety of subjects - mechanic, loadmaster, cabin crew, aerospace engineer, accident investigation, air traffic control, aircraft research and design, aviation museums, to name but a few. A pilot is just one member of a vast team that gets the aeroplane in the air, and an airline pilot is just one type of pilot - there are many other pilot jobs to be had.
Also, try doing a search on the wannabees section of pprune. Basically, to get in the airlines, you need a college education/degree. If you want to join the airforce, you are probably better contacting them directly to find out what their requirements are.
Whichever route you choose - military or civilian, be prepared to work hard. If you go the military route, you don't need quite such deep pockets, you will have the opportunity for some of the most amazing flying, but you have to be prepared to give your life for it. If you go the civilian route, you have to finance everything yourself, which is not impossible, but does leave you with some pretty long term debts.
Don't be put off by that, it is better to know the facts in advance
And remember, at the end of the day, you will have yourself a career well worth working towards.
If you haven't been before, come up to Oshkosh for the airshow at the end of this month (
www.airventure.org) . One day there will give you a little inkling into the variety involved in aviation - it is phenominal.