Volunteering
I would say that judging by the way light aviation is going 'Kitchen Work' will be of more use than 'hanging around' not flying.You can progress to 'Macs' and then the sky's the limit.
You may try 'helping out' at the 'fixing' dept with the possibility of air tests,plus learn what makes the machines tick (quite useful).
So there you have it;progress from washing plates to washing aircraft (someone may even pay you for it)