JF,
Firstly your statement of "jobs in North America being a bit harder to come by than I thought" would raise a few eyebrows right now. All the majors seem to be hiring as well as many cargo operators. As you are 19 and have less than 1500 hours you aren't eligible for these jobs but it does mean some upward movement will make places available at the bottom of the chain which is where you are right now. I noticed on many websites jobs for CFI's in the USA being very abundant. Many advertise "fly 100 hours a month". At that rate you would have your 1200TT in less than a year and be in one of those Part 135 operations doing some of what you would call "real flying". I saw some PA31 operators advertising pay in the low 30's to start and work only 5 nights a week. That's much better than the starting pay than at your 121 operators flying the CRJ's etc. Africa is really seen as a place to go when you have no option in your home country. The USA right now I would say would be brimming with opportunity.
Plenty of Part 135 operators out there advertising for crew. If you want to go overseas for a while I would suggest getting some decent SIC time on a M23/EMB120/B1900 or some PIC on a PA31 or a Caravan. That will put you in a much better position with companies in say Africa or Asia. The only thing you will get overseas with less than 500 hours is flying tourists around Botswana. Get some good hours before you go and you could be in something much bigger.
Last edited by pilotchute; 11th Aug 2013 at 09:44.