You'll likely get better information on Vertical Reference and its forums. Check out this thread in particular. It's dated but I can't imagine things have changed that much since then (other than that comp has surely risen).

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War is god

Good God man, if we were meant to fly amongst a maelstrom of a million nuts and bolts in close formation, Dassault would have built it!

What sector of the industry are you looking at? Oil and Gas very different to charter, for instance.

Answering for my niece... all I can fly is a paper airplane

After several years ferrying crews from southern Louisiana to the oil platforms in the gulf she took a job flying air ambulances.
She works a week on, a week off, 12 hour shifts. Decent pay, good benefits, not a huge amount of flying though. In the gulf she raced up tons of hours but now it's only a few hours a week. Certainly not a profit center for the hospital but they like the high profile of having a helicopter with their name plastered all over. She likes the lifestyle... having a week off every other week gives her a ton of time to do whatever she wants, plus the amount of down time she has on the job she can take on-line courses, sleep, read, annoy the flight nurses, etc.

She's taken odd jobs ferrying helicopters to new owners in remote areas, taught flying at a school, done aerial photography, shuttled helicopters to service facilities.

The airlines are courting heli pilots to convert them to fixed wing commercial since there are so many openings now. Some will pay to get multi engine/ commercial certified if she commits to the airline for a couple of years.

Here's my story. Others may have different experiences but it's pretty typical for the business.
I've been flying for a living around 15 years now. You must be very flexible and move where the job is unless you get lucky, especially in the beginning. Tough on a family.
First job after training is typically instructing for about a year to get required time for turbine operators. Work 6 days a week sun up into the night depending on school needs and student schedules. Good experience but very tough on family life.
Next job could be tours, flying a news helicopter, or flying Gulf of Mexico workers to oil platforms to name a few. Either commute or move to the Gulf, TV station's city, or tour operator's location. Lots of commuting and long hours depending on the job.
I eventually got a job flying a medical helicopter close to home. I paid my dues and dragged my family around for years but it worked out. I work 7 days on and 7 days off which is a great schedule but it took a lot of paying my dues to get there.
Most jobs are full time but you may find work part time at some smaller flight schools or tour operators.
I trained at a civilian flight school. Like anything there are good and bad. I'd recommend a larger busy school that's been around for a while. Better chance they'll be there when you finish your training and you can move into an instructing position to build your flight time quickly.
There seems to be a trend for rotor guys to get their fixed wing rating and move to the airlines. It's a good time to be an airline pilot because of the huge demand. If I was to do it again with the current hiring/pay situation I'd probably go the airline route. Better pay and job security, at least for now.

It's interesting as pilots in Europe for budget airlines make terrible money and openings for long haul with major carriers are slim e. G. A decade or more second seat

Lots move to middle east

Wow, thanks for the great info! We want to retire to the Virgin Islands and I was thinking that flying tourists around the Caribbean would be a lot of fun and provide some extra $, but I'd only want to do it if it could be part-time, which would obviously depend on the needs of the outfits down there. Training-wise, I was thinking I could get as much as possible done quickly (I don't currently work, but have school-age kids to manage, drive around, etc.) and then build up the required hours in a part-time manner IF POSSIBLE. From what you say, the flight instructor path might not be so "part-timeable" though.

I worked full time while going to flight school. It took me over 2 years to get all my certificates and ratings. It can be done quicker though. I had to quit my full time job to work at the flight school which turned into more than a full time job.
You can talk to flight schools in your area about working part time. Smaller schools may be more flexible and willing to do it. You never know.
Some tour operators in the Caribbean may have lower hour requirements to work so you may get a job flying a Robinson R44. Pay would probably be very low as it is typically an entry level job. Tours are ok for a while and it's always fun to take people on their first helicopter ride but they get repetitive. Depends on your personality so you may enjoy it but it's not something I could imagine doing long term.

Money isn’t that bad for LCC, but you’re talking fixed wing, not rotary.

It’s not the money that’s the issue; the LCC model requires maximum ASKs from the fleet, hence maximum utilisation of the aircraft. Working lifestyle is unsustainable for most, hence the majority seem to be going to part-time contracts to remain sane and reasonably healthy.

Rotary jobs more akin to non-scheduled fixed wing than airline.