Desk- Pilot,
The bottom line is that you need the (F)ATPL to get a look in and even be considered, you also need "Hours" the experience that is generally used as a yard stick in aviation.
Unfortunately most of the young up and coming tyro's think that they automatically deserve a RHS Jet position on "graduation".
You only need one major airline or even a not so major one to go down the swanny, then you have a market full of ready trained Captians and First officers who will suddenly "Jump the Queue" and put you back 3 or 4 years. Trust me on this because I have been there. (Air Europe and Dan-Air spring to mind.)
Its not all gloom and doom though, there is more than one way to skin a cat. As I have mentioned above experience does count for a lot, so you may have to go further afield to obtain it.
Providing you are not in to much of a hurry to get that RHS Jet job
there are plenty of oportunities to gain experience in places like Africa, the Caribbean, Canada, the Far East and South Pacific.
With jobs such as Bush flying, Pleasure flying around the Game Reserves, Sea plane flying in Canada, the list goes on.
The majority of these companies will fly your @rse off for you, so loads of hours, although the rates of pay vary wildly from very good to abysmal.
You should at least be able to get a position flying say, C404's
B-18's or if you are lucky DC3/C47 or C46, DC4, DC6 DHc4, all piston engines but brilliant experience. There's also Turbo - Prop B-200, C406, EMB110, DHC-6, SD330/360, CV440, L-188 Electra's, again the list goes on.
From your first post, it seems that you are financially OK, in which case GO FOR IT. Once you have got your license, the market may have improved somewhat and you may well get straight into the Jet RHS, if not then the world's yours mate. You may have to do say a local license conversion ( my Canadian one wasn't too much hassle and very cheap to boot, in fact it was about a tenth of the UK costs.)
What ever you decide, good luck and never give up, there is more to flying than just with the major airlines; if you only want the Jet RHS then you will probably have a very long wait, otherwise the experience you gain along the way will be invaluable.
Happy Landings
