Pheonix, I had 400+ hours by the time I got my CPL. I flew the tug at a gliding club and also a C206 at a skydiving club on a PPL. I got my first job at Moorrabin with a bare CPL - no instrument or instuctor rating. I had 600 hrs before the Boss let me fly the Seneca
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Mate, be inventive and get creative, you will find a way, as we all did. Like Pyscho Joe, I have met guys who did the CPL and jet TR only to find they were up the River Merde' sans paddle when a downturn came and they got laid off: no command time and limited operational experience means no portability of qualifications. In this industry, you HAVE to be able to be portable. You can expect to move many times during your career.
My additional advice to anyone in the industry these days (at any level) is DO NOT CARRY A LARGE DEBT
Chad, in my day, you needed 2000 hrs to be allowed to WASH the Kingair
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...and you had to grovel to do that!