I’ve been involved in the industry actively working/flying for the past 40+ years and am currently Captain on both the AW139 & B412 operating offshore in the Persian Gulf.
Holding both FW & RW ATPL’s (FAA & Canadian) I was also previously type-ck’d as Capt on the B737 back in the mid 1990’s. (Not current at present)
Having left Canada in ‘96, I’ve worked the past 23 years continuously in the helicopter offshore oil & gas industry in Qatar, KSA, UAE, Nigeria, Canada, India, Yemen.
If your plans are to work as an expat overseas for global operators (FW & RW) not including Europe, the most valuable license that you can get yourself where you’ll make the most $$$$ will be the FAA ATPL.
The company that I currently work for in the UAE can’t find enough “qualified” offshore Captains. We’re about 15 guys short. What is “qualified” you ask...? Mid-Late 30’s, FAA ATPL, 5,000+ Hrs, Offshore Oil & Gas experience, multi-crew ops, multi-eng experience ie Bell212, Bell412, AW139.
That all said, your getting an FAA FW ATPL and throwing in a B737 type-ck (B737-300 Non-Glass cockpit at $10,000USD approx) will certainly fast track you to where you want to get to. Don’t worry about the Glass cockpit. The employer only wants to see the type-ck on the license. The airline will put you through a Glass Transition Course.
If your plans are to work in Europe, disregard all the above.....
Good luck.....