Radically changing career paths four years into college

<p>Hello, this is my first post here, and I want to get some advice and perspective.</p>

<p>Here's my story:</p>

<p>I've completed over 120 hours of coursework for a B.S. in geology. The thing is that I've slowly started realizing, starting in late 2011 (very slowly!) that it wasn't the career for me. I love the topic, but the prospect of becoming a geologist and having a job in this field didn't appeal to me. But I stuck with it, partly out of a desire to not disappoint my parents by dropping out of college or switching majors for the second time when I'm so far down a track, partly out of the idea of 'well I've come this far, I might as well finish it' and partly because I thought that maybe I was just over-reacting.</p>

<p>As a consequence, my grades slipped terribly (2.34 GPA at the time of this writing with an awful major GPA), and I failed a course that I need to graduate. I've ruminated over the course of the past year and a half about what I really want to do, and I've decided that I want to pursue a career in aviation, since I've loved planes and such since I was a kid. So basically, my questions are:</p>

<p>1) Where would I start in order to get my foot into the aviation industry door? I've kind of just been Googling airline jobs, but that is not a smart place to start now that I think about it. Any path that doesn't involve going into the military is good with me.
2) I've read that you can put that you've completed x amount of hours in a major on your resume. I know this question is very much a case-by-case basis, but how much does "partial education" help a resume? I get the sinking feeling that it'll only serve to get employers to ask why I elected to not finish.</p>

<p>Thanks for any help, and sorry if the questions seem really needy or something like that. I just feel really stressed at this point and I'm basically asking for advice and assurance that I've not totally screwed myself over at this point in my life.</p>