Yeah, I worked with a few AMT's in the 90's who both went from flight mech to FE having 500-700 hrs PP time under their belts, flew as much as they could + 500 hrs FE time applied and made FO at ATP minimums. It worked out great for them.
I allways thought it unique for a private pilot to have his first commercial pilot job flying a 747 within a matter of a few years, the whole time making decent money.