Stick with the sea!
I too gained my PPL whilst at college with the aim of becoming a commercial pilot. Still in the aftermath of 9/11 and a complete lack of funds I decided to head to sea to earn some money with the view of returning to flight training once finances allowed.
8 years later and i'm still at sea, work on a super-yacht earning a decent wage with a 13th month bonus, 10 weeks away followed by 10 weeks at home. I cannot deny that I occasionally look back and wonder if I could have done it but on the other hand my life/work balance couldn't be any better. Especially with free high speed broadband allowing Skype calls home, medical insurance, bonuses, job security and all travel expenses covered. Obviously this is probably at one end of the seafaring scale but at the end of the day I have 6 months off per year to do as much general flying as I want.