Yeah. This thread has drifted a bit.

One of the suits at the RAA made a derogatory comment about pilots "wasting time" doing things like crop dusting, instructing, traffic watch, etc because it has no relevance to part 121 ops. I disagree. The first thousand hours or so are where you really learn how to be an aviator. It's just yourself in command of an airplane, fully responsible for all decision making. No one is holding your hand. It's called experience, and there's no way to buy it. Some folks may be gods gift to aviation and learn it all in 250 hours, but most folks really need a bit more time before they're ready to be a valuable resource in the cockpit.