Good morning all.
I started flying in the mid eighties, and came through the "self-improver" route, an expression i have always been uncomfortable with. In the early days of hours building things were tough but not unbearable. I would say that the 4 months living in a minging caravan, towing gliders for 30 quid a week was the lowest point, but it got me nearly 300 hours which led to a slightly less unpalatable job and so on.
Last weekend i returned to the airfield where my career started with PPL and later 2 years instructing, and got to meet the latest group of future airline pilots. Upon hearing i was now a Captain on the 340 for a UK carrier, i was bombarded with the usual questions, which i was reassured to found out are exactly the same as 20 years ago. Not long after my PPL i was working at the club de-icing the cessna's at 7 in the morning etc. and met a senior skipper with Brittania. His advice? Take all the s$$t thrown at you, beg, borrow, or steal any flying you can. Moody charters, glider towing, re-fueling, anything that enables you to make contact with people further up the food tree.
I naturally passed this advice on, only to be met with a series of aghast looks from 4 of these guys, but one gentleman nodding wisely. I came away a couple of pints later with a feeling that everyone wants everything NOW. Sadly, aviation doesn't work that way, and never will as long as the sun rises in the East. I detect a feeling that some trainees expect to move straight onto a nice shiny 320 with 200 hours on a PA28 and all is well, and that a turboprop out of some 2nd tier airport is somehow below them. I can tell you here and now that that attitude will be detected early on, to the detrement of your career. The one gentleman who was nodding with me, is probably as we speak cleaning a hangar floor somewhere and making tea for the engineers, and will quite likely be sitting next to me at work 10 years from now. I look forward to it.
Brgds