I cant speak for anything in the UK, and based on what I see of the Licensing procedures there, Im quite thankful for that.
However in the states, here are my thoughts.
1) Either have lots of money OR get your Fixed Wing ratings and then Add-On Helicopter. It seems to be the cheapest route to the Ratings... I said ratings not proficiency, total time and employment.
2) Typical jobs for low timers......NONE unless you marry the owners daughter. Bottom line Helicopter work seems to be around 1000 hours of turbine time. That usually requires about 1500 hours total or more. Others, Im sure, will post diferently depending on availability and geographic locations.
3) If you have a Commercial and around 2500 hours PIC it means you have a little variety of experience and can usually find work. But thats the bottom line, its work and starts at the bottom of the pay scale. As long as you move from job to job you are always going to be on the bottom unless you advance your ratings and get to more sophisticated aircraft... (here goes those big heads in SPIFR twins)
4) As mentioned above its cheaper. Contact a few flight schools and TALK to others, then you do the math.