Like my friend, BelArgUSA, I too was trained at PanAmerican (B707) and was lucky enough to slot right directly into the LHS, overseas.
This was in the very early seventies, and airline FD positions were very hard to come by in the USA.
I received some very good advce back then from an 'old hand' in the business...get your Command and head offshore.
I did so and never looked back.
The wages for pilots at that time overseas were quite good (and mostly tax-free), and the supply of commanders short.
It's all gone backwards since then, as a close look at the middle east forum will undoubtedly testify.
The bloom has definitely gone off the rose.
Still, at the pointy end, the job can be enjoyable, even if the pay has subsided.