I read this thread with interest, as I find myself in the predicament of being a reasonably experienced (3-4000h) pilot who wants to advance in my career, but can't.
Personally, I've got no problem sharing the cockpit with a 250h cadet. I just wish that recruitment wasn't biased in their favour. I'm a realist, and I realise that to advance in my career I'll need to accept poorer T&Cs than that which I am on at the moment as the commander of a light TP in a small operation (hard to believe, but it's true that worse T&Cs do exist).