February 1994 - Got an FAA CPL+IFR, unfortunately no opportunity at this time for a foreign pilot to stay as an instructor, so I just packed and returned home.
October 1996 - Almost got a job in a freight company flying two DC-3s, but it went bankrupt after my very first flight. That's life.
November 1996 - January 1997 - Tried to build up some flying time in a skydiving center, got only a few hours, no pay and large expenses, but had fun.
May 2011 - Started as a ground instructor for a ridiculous pay, and said to the VP that I wanted to kiss her when she handed me my first pay in seventeen years in aviation (it amounted to about £18). She has a sense of humor, so I still have my job.
Not a single interview for years, and regular dark thoughts involving rope or sleeping pills, until the sun finally shone again. Suddenly everything's so fast, even ground instructors around me barely stay six months on the job before being sucked up as F/O on A320, so future is bright at last. If you have no patience though, or are in short supply of hope, it's probably safer to consider another career. Nevertheless, reading all the previous posts, I guess the waiting time before securing a job is unpredictable.