I have flown in Europe for 3 different airlines on contract. I even flew for Parc. I can tell you that the more they need you the easier it is to get certified. I never took any written tests. I did some sim work and was observed by a CAA (FAA) official and granted a "Validation." This paper allowed me to act a PIC for XXX airline on XXX aircraft for XXX amount of time. I know guys who did this for 13 years.

The thing about contract work is that you are only there because they need you. Once they don't need you, C-ya. No contract will matter. How are you going to enforce the contract anyway. One time one of my airlines did not have enough work for us for two months, so they fabricated some story about work permits. Another captian and I anticipated this and got the permits behind their backs. When they made the big anouncement, we brought out our permits and said, "Oh you mean these?" We got two months off with pay and the other pilots went home without pay. The company was not too happy and could have tried to screw us out of the money but they needed us in two months so decided to play by the rules.

If you decide to pursue contract work, save your money, listen instead of talk, and be prepaired to be flexible.

Anyone interested in more info can PM me.