...and operators should spend thousands of dollars on inexperienced pilots to fly complex airplanes without seeing at least some work ethic and decision making skills before putting them in the seat? In most cases we are talking about putting 200 hour pilots into the right seat of a King Air or Twin Otter.
If your only reason for disagreeing with the practice is because pilots have spent lots of money on their training, then go talk to a doctor in residency and do the comparison.
The only part of the whole practice I disagree with is paying them peanuts and working them to the bone.
Anyways, to answer your question KB1: the wait time depends on the operator, the economy and the season. Most have a wait time of 1 to 2 years, although some guys get lucky and are flying sooner. It sounds like a long time, but its worth it in the end.
There is a bit of a hiring swing going on right now - its not a boom, but operators are hiring - so get your resume out right now. Target those operators you really want to work for. At the end of the day its not all about flying and just because you may end up doing 1,000 hours a year at one operator and only 400 at does not make the first one better.
Good luck and have fun!