I flight instructed for 3 years, got burnt out but learned a lot! I have confidence in what I do. I think that the 250 hour pilot might be good stick and maybe a good student when it came to ground school systems. However, one must admit it takes time to personally be confidence with the national airspace system and be able to react quickly based on good judgment.
It wasn’t too long ago that regional minimum were way over 2000 hours (or not even hiring). Somewhere a line in the sand must be drawn where “how low is too low.” Depends on who you talk to and what the hiring conditions were like when they went threw it (3 years to 30 years ago). Safety is always number one. Can you put a minimum hour time on what is safe? Food for thought.