They gotta figure out a way to make it actually affordable or attainable, without needing to join the military and all the bullshit that comes with that.

The normal way this works is zero-interest federally-back student loans with a path to forgiveness via public service.

For pilots, perhaps include working as a pilot for (n) years means forgiveness.

Isn't it sort of a walled garden that way, an industry captured by and protected by this large barrier to entry which ensures a supply of jobs to those to ex-military pilots? Seems to happen in a lot of industries, artificially limiting supply to protect a pre existing privilege. Or am I just imagining things, I'm not familiar with the aviation industry.

This seems like a great place to create a system where after initial training like yours, an airline could pick up the cost of further training kinda like a lot of trucking companies do. Like I get it, training to fly is a ton different than driving a truck, and the investment into a pilot would be a world different than tucking, but I bet an airline makes a lot more off a pilot than a shipping company does a trucker. So once a person proves their ability to make it through initial schooling, it would probably be a worthwhile investment for the airlines.... Idk.