I upgraded in a year at Colgan and flew with Chris Wiken a lot before he upgraded. He was preparing hard for months before he ever was called for the upgrade.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear about 2-3 year FO's that do not appear to be ready. When one sees the upgrade coming in 6 months to a year they will pay more attention to the captains flows and company manuals out of sheer terror. Once the upgrade gets closer I bet you see everyone get better, ask more questions, and what not because they know the upgrade is near.