HH60, of course 500 hours of experience as a pilot has a bearing on weather knowledge, aircraft familiarity, administrative skills, customer service, efficiency, productivity, or commen sense. These are all things you learn, in the context of aviation, while you are working your first paid job as a pilot. Even common sense is a learned trait -you gain it by making mistakes and saying to yourself: "Whew! I'm not doing that again!"
As Decks said, 1,800 hours is just barely enough on a practical level to be successful at your job in the Gulf. Never mind that a few small companies may hire someone with 800 hours of experience. I'm sure you would find that their standards are lower in every department. Protect yourself; stay in your current job until you get to, say, 2,000 hours and then get on with one of the big three: PHI, Air Log or ERA. They're all good companies to work for.