City Hunter, your career progression will really depend on where you have working rights. In the US there are many helicopter operators but Asia there are very few commercial operators and these tend to employ their own citizens. In order to increase your chances, go for the markets which have the larger number of operators to increase your chances of employment after training.
Often rookie helicopter pilots will cut their teeth doing scenic flights. You are correct in saying that the helicopter training market in some countries is not for lower-houred pilots (Australia is a good example) but in the US traditionally a lot of newbies build hours from the day they obtain their CFI/CFII. However you will note that in slower economic times, even countries with large numbers of operators may see job openings dry up and therefore the traditional route of moving up a much harder task.
Just my 2 cents worth as a holder of both FW and RW CPLs.