As someone that has only been in the game a few years, my first move, and I believed it to be the only way to really get in to the industry, was to go out and put myself on the hangar floor. The company i work for now have always had, and hopefully always will have the philosophy that you must earn your time in the hangar first. I certainly don't see the time spent in the hangar as wasting precious time flying. It is something that only adds to your understanding of not only the aircraft around you, but the industry in which you work.
Depending on how many pilots/aircraft the company has, the time on the floor with out flying seems to be around 6 months. Yes, this is time spent sometimes sweeping floors/cleaning gutters/weeding gardens, but it also involves a lot of time working hands-on on the aircraft with the engineers (good guys to get to know.....). This experience makes the world of difference once you start flying out in the 'real world', especially in places up here in the NT where you are often by yourself with help a long way away. From an employers point of view it also gives them time to see how the new pilot relates to everyone else, and their general attitude/work ethic. This is much more important than pure flying skill for any junior pilot, as skill takes experience and comes with time.
I spent a few years (by choice for the last one) working in the hangar, and you will get paid for it, if it is a good company (like the one i work for) just not a lot. Not that that changes once you start flying anyway..
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I have met a lot of newbies, as I am currently in the position of sifting through resumes looking for someone to work out here, and the most common response seems to be that they don't want to put in the 'hard' yards in the hangar (one of the best times I've had), and want to start flying straight away. Unfortunately for these guys, they are not the ones going to get the job out here. Every person that has gone through this old system seems to have more of a general body of knowledge about the industry and more practical hands on experience, which becomes invaluable once they need to be sent out on their own.
Whether some people see this as the old way of doing things and we should be changing with the times or not, it doesn't change the fact that there are always more junior pilots out there, so if you don't want to do the time, don't expect to get a start out here.
Oh, and the destructor thing? how can you teach what you haven't learnt yet? It's all very well and good to be shown something once, nod your head, say you understand it, but until you've been there/done that on your own, real time...... no thanks.
All the guys that taught me were 8000+ hrs, and there is something to be said for life experience. If I was paying for my licence again, I would make damn sure that the guys I was paying to teach me were the best. Its your dollar, you choose.
rant over....
Oh..and if there is anyone out there that wouldn't mind a job in the NT, and doesn't mind a few months in the hangar, feel free to PM me. All robbies, mostly 22's.