Corporate aviation is far less developed in Europe than it is in the US, with the possible exception of the UK. A brief check of the number of corporate aircraft registered within the various countries will show the scale of the divide - it's huge! Similarly, air taxi and regional turboprop operators are relatively rare. Despite Witchdoctor's little quip, surface transport within Europe (even in UK) is way, way better than in the US, and carries a lot of the traffic that is carried by air in your country.
Consequently, there aren't many jobs, and what there are aren't very well paid. Having said that, a regional pilot in Europe is probably paid better than his equivalent in the USA, where derogatory wages are the norm in anything other than the majors. Now the US majors are in commercial freefall, the salary comparison between US and EU jet operators is beginning to look a little more balanced as well. However, the cost of living, at least in northern Europe (UK, Benelux, France, Germany) is considerably higher than in most of the US.
Your first priority should be to ensure that you have the legal right to live and work in the EU. Without that, you're wasting your time. Similarly, you should get a JAA Class 1 medical, which is more stringent than the FAA equivalent. Thereafter, there are plenty of JAA FTOs in the US, but you really need to take a long visit to your intended country of residence to determine whether or not you can live with the weather, language, culture etc. Training here would be a way to achieve that. Lastly, unemployment among pilots is high worldwide; don't expect any miracles by aiming at Europe.
Scroggs
Virgin/Wannabes Moderator
[email protected]