I tend to agree with Scroggs although I haven't experienced this yet. My tale goes along something like this...
Started four year Aeronautical Engineering degree course October 1992 having already achieved PPL/IMC and about 200 hours.
Left said course after a year realising it was much as Winchlaunch has described.
After working over the summer months started a full time course at the London Guildhall University studying for the CPL theory.
Twelve weeks later and all CPL ground subjects completed I tackled the CPL GFTs finishing finally about two months later.
Six months after this I undertook a flying instructor course and went on to instruct first of all part-time then full-time for three years.
Having completed the IR I had my first commercial job three months later.
So in summary; left boring university course June 1993. First commercial job flying turbo-props January 1997.
You decide.