7 or 8 years to command would be regarded as rather quick in BA, Virgin or Britannia! According to the discussions on Rumours and News, and Terms and Endearments, projected time to command in BA is between 15 and 20 years. In Virgin it's around 10 years for new entrants. In Britannia it was around 12 years last time I checked, but perhaps Pilote Pete can advise us on that.
Lifestyle is - or should be - a big issue for all applicants to any job. One of the things you should all make yourselves thoroughly familiar with is how rostering works in your chosen company, and how much time off you get at times when you can use it! BA shorthaul, I understand, is no better than EZ or Ryan when it comes to its record on hard-rules rostering for newbies.
Anyway, none of this should worry you Wannabes yet! But watch these threads (in R&N and T&E) carefully for info on how the job market works, and what people in BA really think about their lot.
Scroggs