Some good posts here.
Insurance and supply and demand are bull!!!! and I'll tell you why.
Say you want to fly floats... insurance minimums are 200hrs on floats 500hrs total. You dont have the time, so you spent a year working on the docks and then you get to fly...wtf? since when does working on the docks count for flying time? Everyone is looking for instructors so they tell you comne build PIC time its important. Let me tell you all know Cessna time is worth *uck all There are still operators there that need pilots because of the movement and all these small companies with their ridiculous requirements are gonna feel it when they need pilots and noone wants to work for them. Ive seen Navajo requirements for F/Os that were 1000hr, 100Multi and 1800hr,500multi. My first job was on a Navajo and I had less than 300hrs. A navajo is not a very complicated airplane to fly.
As for Europeans... read the forums they are all whores. All they want to do is spend $40k on a type rating and whore themselves out. You can find them in the Asia forum, the Middle East forum. they might get into a jet for 1-2 years...then they are unemployed. Their training is also almost double what we pay here. They know the autopilot well, but Im sure if they had none they'd crash and die. Last Ive heard there are a couple trying to get into India and if they come here Im gonan boot them back to the UK cause thats where most of them come from. If you're not a Brit they dont want you flying in the UK yet they are like cockroaches with type ratings running around the world. Guys like that will never fly for a big reputable company only those cheesy little discount airlines.