Cheers guys, good insight there. It does seem to be an incredibly tricky career in terms of getting that foot in the door. I have considered more "normal" careers/jobs, simply to avoid the uncertainty and prospect of severe financial difficulty. Should I go down that route I will probably try and gain a ppl in my spare time, although I've always been interested in flying bigger aircraft. I would be interested to hear about any experiences and the satisfaction of a job as pilot. I have spoken to a pilot who seemed to suggest that while larger aircraft like 747/A380 and even medium sized (737) may seem like an exciting prospect; the reality is that these aircraft operate more rigidly (in terms of their flight plans/operations) and thus flying them may become monotonous after a period of time...