Hi bearcat.
My experience. When i graduated i did some flightseeing flights on a Cessna. There was an operator at the airport where i did my training and i used to know someone inside. I did that on a voluntary basis in my freetime. It was a great experience. Especially with young kids who wanted to be pilots as well. After almost 3 years applying, i got my first job in the corporate on a Lear. Meanwhile after 5 years working i got jobless but i'm shortlisted in an airline company,so hoping to start end of this year. My advice to all wannabes is really to start small and work your way up. You see and learn a lot and, you can make a better picture for yourself what you actually want. ( corporate or airline or perhaps something else in aviation). I must say, it is indeed very hard to get in the corporate, harder than the airline. If you see eg Tag aviation they want people with only 50h on type. Just a nasty way to say :"we are not going to pay for the type.". Try to network and also MAINTAIN the contacts you have. If you see someone at the airport, invite him/her for a pint. Meanwhile stay current and study. If you are able to get a jeppesen vol 1: read!!!
Good luck you'll get there, you are still very young.
Last edited by Stick35; 14th Apr 2013 at 16:01.