is there always a 5-10 year hold-up as you acquire hours enough to be considered by a reputable airline?
Well, you do the maths. Jetstar requires 1500 hours and an ATPL before they'll look at your application. VA, although requiring slightly less, but judging by those who have posted here on pprune, those getting interviews have in advance of 3000 hours. If you're lucky enough to get a job soon after getting your CPL, and you average say, 500 hours a year then you're looking at at least 3 years to 6 years in GA gaining valuable experience. If you refer to that as a 'hold-up', then I'd seriously be looking for a different profession if I were you.