Hey Storm Glider,
Let me tell you about myself...
I was also in the USAF. I wanted to be a pilot, so that is what I did. People thought I was crazy, because I was an O-3, and I was willing to spend my own money and then give up a good paying job to make crap pay. I also was already married with a child by the time I separated from the military, so imagine...
Now here are some things to consider...
Do you still have your GI Bill? I used mine for flight training. It helped out quite a bit.
Another thing to consider... if you don't have the rights to work in another country, you will pretty much be in the USA for the foreseeable future. You can forget Europe, Australia, NZ, etc... In some countries, you can't work at an airline unless you are a citizen (such as Mexico, Brazil, and Russia). When you are a big Captain with lots of hours on a big jet, then you might be able to go to the Middle East or Asia. So for now, focus on the US.
Next thing to consider: Don't worry so much about the name of the school. In the US, nobody really cares where you did your training. The important thing is the quality of the training that you received, but you can receive good training at a small mom and pop school or a big academy. Conversely, you can receive poor training as well. Shop wisely. Cheapest isn't always the best, but high price tag doesn't always mean high quality.
Now, the reality... yes you will probably have to work for very low, barely livable wages for a few years. You might be stuck paying for your own health care insurance (which doesn't cover everything, so a big shocker once you get out of the military), you might be stuck paying for your own instructor insurance too!
Some of the guys I know were only surviving because their wife/girlfriend had a decent paying job. Or because they had a roommate and were able to split the cost of rent, etc... When I decided to change careers, my wife and I really had to readjust our spending habits.
You also mention that you want to build your hours...
There are some flight schools in hot bed training areas (California, Arizona, Florida) that will get you instructing the max allowable (8 hours per day) and 5 days a week. There are some guys racking up over 100 hours per month as instructors. You will build hours fast, and you will get burned out perhaps. There are places needing instructors, you have to be willing to go there.
And like what was mentioned before, look beyond just airlines. I have a friend who was a flight instructor, then got a job as a simulator instructor at Flight Safety, and within the first few months he already received several job offers from clients to fly corporate jets. There is also Part 135 freight and a lot more. If you have a security clearance, once you build up some hours, you might be able to get hired at a company with government contracts. The possibilities are diverse, but you will have to work your way up from the bottom at the beginning.