I stand to be corrected, but I think the change to EASA regs will make it much harder for the self funded pilot to break into the ME IR markets unless they are willing to ply there trade anywhere in the world.
In the past military pilots would end up on civvy street and discover that the CAA didn't give a hoot about their military experience unless it was extensive. Guys that had flown ME military helicopters would end up right back at square 1 starting ppl(h)'s in R22s. For many the expense to get back to where they once were meant that they couldn't do it.
AFAIK that has now changed and a large part of a pilot's military accreditation(s) can be carried across [and so it should be]. For the privately funded flyer this means that you're going to have to invest serious amounts of money to get a CV that competes.
I've spent the last 10 years in this industry and still can't find a way to make any money out of it. Has it been fun? Yeah, at times. Would I do it again? Nah, I could have saved tens (possibly hundreds) of thousands of pounds that could have been spent recreationally flying whilst working in a job with a better guarantee of a pay cheque at the end of the month.