Step 1 : Re-think career options.
Step 2 : Repeat step one. If still intent on pursuing an aviation career, proceed to step 3.
Step 3 : If possibility of gaining a dual citizenship for somewhere the like of EU or USA, TAKE IT and train over yonder, and you will find things much easier come the job hunt.
Step 4 : If stuck being an Aussie (not such a bad thing!) Do course. Get some "real life" work experience while studying, you'll need it. Employers seem to like hospitiality industry and the such, as it shows you have worked with customers previously.
Step 5 : Once completed (say 200 odd hours) Pick some where and get out and see the chief pilots. Sitting at home writing letters and making phonecalls will get you NOWHERE. Beg, scrape, crawl, till they let you work in their office or hangar (probably for minimal if any wage) doing menial tasks.
Step 6: After showing outstanding enthusiasm and work ethic, get checked to line for charters when a spot comes up.
Step 7: Fly "scheissen housen" aircraft to sh*t house destinations for a year or two. After this you may be lucky enough to be offered some twin IFR work. Up until this point your IFR rating has been dormant.
Step 8: Apply to the Big Q. This can be done before the "twin flying" part of Step 7, as there basic requirement are only 500 hours command, with no requirement for any twin time (and I have known people to get in recently with only C210 experience)
Step 9: If you feel you are Sierra Hotel, Steps 3 through to 8 may be bypassed by way of the Qantas cadetship. Check out the details and the Qantas website under employment - pilot - cadet. The cadetship is open now, and if you haul ass you may get an application in before the closing date of 31 OCT.
With the current state of the industry if you can get into the cadetship, take it. THere will always be the knockers, saying you've taken the easy way out blah blah blah, but the way aviation is these days you need to look out for number one.
However should you choose your own training option, by the time you get CPL, with any luck the industry will be on the way back up again. Its a bit like a rollercoaster.
If you're not 100% committed to a career in aviation, do something else, cause aviation can break you heart. It can also put you on cloud 9!!
GOOD LUCK
