My 5 cents...
I just got my first airline gig this year with Air New Zealand.
i trained modular, took me 10 months to do my commercial with 151hrs total time on test day so despite what some people say, modular can be much quicker than integrated.
I worked as an instructor for 4 years (managed to get full time jobs!) and had 2300hrs TT before getting the airline break.
Best time of my life, but tough as well and many of my mates didnt make it through. Before getting my first job I was shovelling horse manure and fixing simulators just to pay the bills..
If you really love flying then nothing compares to doing it for a job and you will be able to put in the hard yards it takes! If you dont, the rewards just wont justify the hard work and you will just be miserable.
Best of luck buddy!