I am a very low time pilot (400 hrs) and I see the problem as this: Learning the basic mechanics of learning to fly are fairly simple. The difficult part is learning the decision making skills. I choose to take as many "gear monkey" flights as I can to build experience since I have a full time job and can't instruct. Gaining the experience is the key, whether its mentoring from an experienced captain (as I'm doing) or instructing. However, I make sure that when I'm sitting right seat, I remain humble and take all of the lessons from the flight that I can.