Yet another sad example of people hurling insults at each other and degrading the value of a thread - maybe its just entertainment for some of those participating?
Common sense suggests that the time it takes for someone to get qualified varies immensely from person to person. Several factors pay a role; aptitude, motor skills, situational awareness, focus, determination, effort, are just some. As pilots we all know colleagues and friends who managed to skip through those ATPL exams in 6 months and we also know others who took 5 times longer and everything in between. Passing the exams is a tick in the box for many, the knowledge they retain in often very small. Others love to delve deep into the subject, they want to really understand and pride themselves in remembering a large percentage after the exams have passed. Its somewhat a personal choice I believe.
The old timers (me being one of them) will opine "we had to know more because we actually had to write out the answers" and you will hear lots of comments bounded around such as "the modern students don't seem to know anything even after they just passed the exams"....and so on.
I see it both ways. Of course, as Icelanta says, you could easily spend thousands of study hours to get anywhere near knowing the 14 subjects in depth and being able to remember most of it, even if that was possible for the average human being to do so! On the other hand, jumping though the regulators hoop and passing with minimum study of the subject (learning the answers only) is now an industry accepted norm, just as it has been for years in the FAA system. The acid test comes later, what do the airlines accept? Rumor had it (last year) airlines were getting concerned about the level of knowledge exhibited by newly qualified cadets, I am not sure how airlines will look at this in the recovery phase after COVID. It might be a good idea to study more in depth and have exceptional theoretical knowledge to have an advantage at the interview when airlines start hiring again - I don't know the answer.
Bottom line, everyone is right, you could get qualified (fATPL from zero) in 10 months or you could take several years, its all about you, the abilities you were born with and the effort you can put in to make up for any weaknesses you might have, oh, and don't forget the quality of training, this can be a significant factor.