I'm forced to agree with all of you recommending against working as a pilot in the U.S.
I am a dual citizen ( Swedish, US) having been lucky enough to get on with a major U.S carrier in the early 90's. I spent 2.5 years on furlough before being recalled and then, of course, the aftermath of 9/11 with more furloughs, bankruptcies and resulting loss of pensions. Although my airline escaped the most recent wave of bankruptcies I have no illusions as to what the future holds.
I am now a wide body co-pilot with a decent salary( only because I'm single) looking at captain upgrade at my base in perhaps 4 years. That will be 19 years to captain. I plan on retiring at 50 and take my services overseas. The job simply doesn't hold much allure anymore with cranky employees, greedy and indifferent management and seniority stagnation unknown even in the 1970's.
I would encourage all future aspiring pilots to stay away from the U.S market except to gain experience. The ONLY exception to this is UPS and FedEx. If you manage to get on with any of these you have certainly hit the jack pot. If not, follow the advice of other ppruners on this thread and get out. I probably will.