wheelie,
I see where you're coming from but I think it's unfair to say that if you aim higher than Ryanair you go to somewhere like OAA. I ask again: Why should the airline you aspire to fly for be your first job?
Besides, there are advantages of flying for someone else before going to somewhere like BA because you would be on DEP pay rather than SSP pay. It doesn't take that long to get the hour requirements elsewhere either.
This is an honest question, I'm not trying to put down OAA graduates. What's the advantage of going to OAA then ending up flying for Ryanair when they also take modular students? Surely the advantage of these places is that you have the chance of starting somewhere better, or was it just a risk you took that unfortunately hasn't paid off?