Hi
A friend of mine joined "Sabre", ex excel a few years back. Within 4-5 months he had made a few useful contacts but a particular one put him in touch with the right guy.
So with his 300 hours he went on to fly the 727 (not for Sabre though). So who know ? Worked for him though...
As for me, I worked as cabin crew, check-in agent and now fly the 75. It didn't give the job but helped in developpong my personaility which certainly was more than helpful to prove myself at the interview.
If you want to give it a go then why not? Nothing like finding by yourself plus you will probably enjoy it and get even more motivated in achieving your ultimate goal.
Good Luck anyway