Four years on, I've had two full-time flying jobs, a bit of ad hoc work and quite a bit of SEP instructing. First job, with a very respectable outfit, paid a salary from day one and gave me a free turboprop type rating but it was a short term contract for a specific purpose. Second job lasted almost a year and a half before redundancy. The ad hoc work was offered by an old contact and instructing has always been a good fallback in lean times.
midnight cruiser mentions several things that I recognise..."bottom of the barrel outfit", "egotistical pricks", "lack of meritocracy", "standards..can be shockingly low, even for upgrades".
Aviation is not a good career but I'm still trying to make the best of it.