My story is sprayed all over PPRuNe.
Where I'm from originally there were no cadet schemes and the military wasn't an option.
So did what we all did then and got a job bush flying and worked up from there. Driving several thousand km to look for work and networking all the way.
Once I had the relevant experience moved to the next job.
It's incredibly competitive in Australia to get a jet job and fortunately I also held a British passport so I shifted to the UK in 2001. Yes, that year. When I arrived here (UK) I had over 4,500 hours.
Many people fall into the trap of believing the flight school publicity of "learn to fly at our school and you'll be in a jet on graduation". As Beazlebub said, only those on a tagged scheme will that happen. Yes, Ryanair have taken a lot of new pilots but that's another story - and expense.
You've explained the pitfall WRT buying hours. There's no job at the end because there's someone else lining up to pay to play.
Advice. Aim lower and/or prepare to move. There is no magic solution. Just hard work.