its your choice
Basically nothing is certain in this world, especially with the world as it is at the moment. Avaition world is some what different to the rest of the world of work. Some good, some bad. I didn't beleive it myself untill I was redundant just like that from an airline.... however bond free with a type rating on my licence.
Its a hard road ahead and there were FO in my previous company who started later and were taken on in the early 40's. This i would say is rare. But what you need is lUck to get a job from a modular course background and you make your own luck. That means talking to everyone and taking any thing. I have been unemployed for a month and still airlines are messing about with start dates which when you are paying a mortgage and with kids , its not nice.
A lot of people fall by the way side I think half my ATPL students didn't finish to get their MEIR and bascially there has to be a desire to keep going and also a back up plan when its not going your way at that time. It took me from PPL to 1st commercial job 4 years.
Aviation actually is a small place and hence knowing somebody to get a job is where its at. Be it Oxford or a friend of a friend.
Hey if you become a part time instuctor then you are getting paid to fly and that's what its all about surely. That 747 job may never come... but it could.