I'll take a slight difference to RickAirs opinion on the night freight. Honestly it will make you a better pilot, whether forced or by choice. You are the PIC, you are the end decision maker on whether or not a flight is completed or not, and safely. It's a great way to build hours quickly, and the experience can't be matched anywhere. Some operations are shady, but so are many airlines. You just have to keep your safety in mind at all times.
My path is as follows
-0 hours, went to Purdue for the flight Fall 00'-Spring 04'
Graduated 04 with 380hrs, Inst/Commercial Single/Multi, CFI ratings with 120hrs of dual given
-May 04'-Oct 05' I flight instructed at a small airport in Michigan, built 1000hrs total, about 900-ish dual-given, and some other hours flying right-seat for a charter, and some fun flights. Learned tons about myself and how to teach people to fly. 11 sign-off's with 100% pass-rate
-Oct 05'-Jul 07' Flew for one of those Small-piston(twin) freight operators. Flew mainly cancelled checks, but also on-demand freight and passengers. 1300hrs my first year, next year slowed down a little. My whole time there I avg'd 100hrs/month of flying. One of the best and challenging experiences I've had!(I do miss the flying portion, not the hurry-up and wait). Left there with 2000hrs of C310 time.
-Jul 07'-present Work for a Piper and Socata distributor, including full Mx and Avionics shops. I get to fly all Piper's, and TBM's. I also fly just about anything that comes through either of the shops also, including Cheyenne's. My first year I flew about 600hrs, but when you're only doing .3 test flights it slows that rate down. I could milk the times, but I don't see it as necessary, and saves everyone money. So I don't always fly the shiny and new aircraft, but it's a varying experience that I really enjoy, and the people I work with are great(which has been at each job I've been at).
There's 100 ways to get to the same place, so good luck and enjoy!