Just in case you speak about me: I had neither a TR nor any experience when I got my job somewhere in the world (not even a MCC!). My first job was on a VFR single engine small airplane. When I got my first job with a basic CPL, my friends stayed in Europe were in the same position as most of you guys. My cousin tried during years to work for AF while working as an engineer (with a not that high salary and debts...), when he got accepted he had to stay years on the ground (staff job) because suddently activity went down. He got his F/O job not so long time ago, he is older than me, and he will never have in all his life all the pilot experience I already got.
I got everything I wanted from this career, even new skills like an asian language (chinese) and can now focus on getting a master degree and prepare my second career that would make me evolve professionaly and work using a bit more my brain (pilot job brings incredible experience in your life, but honestly technically speaking you are just a driver) and prevent a forseen oil shortage (or high oil price) to force me to choose.
All what I hope for you is to be able to live you pilot life, master your destiny, instead of waiting, thing that a pilot shouldn't do. A pilot has to fly, the younger the better. And a pilot has to get ready, age, loss of medical, or oil price will for sure stop his career at one point, and much sooner than you expect sometimes, escpecially for the youngest that will start flying with all the finance and energy issues we already started to face since the begining of this new century, the 21 rst.