I have noticed the same thing in my limited experience and lower number of hours without a CFI and being a PIC with various jobs that require different demands contributed to my total abilities and decision making as a pilot. I want to dispel any notion that I think I am better, but I have noticed a difference in confidence between those with the same experience versus the magenta army. As I slowly work on my CFI I have realized my goal is not to train pilots or build time, though that is inherent to the big picture of creating confident pilots with decision making ability, as it will be me to assume that liability. Yes, you can still have fun while doing so, it appears.
It's that you get to the 1,500 "on your own" that's important.
The post commercial phase of a pilot, at least on the civilian track, is critically important. It's time to consolidate that knowledge and skill you've picked up and blend it with some real world decision making and people interfacing. Probably one of the MOST important lessons learned during this time is the ability to say "no".
We can sit here all day and argue about 1490, 1500 or 1510, but the real issue is what you did to get there. If all you did was sit in the right seat, fool with the autopilot and tweet while the Captain was looking over the weather and release, then you've done nothing but enhance your knob twiddling skills and learn where the Starbuckses are on the eastern seaboard.
Take a look at some of the accidents with this in mind, and you'll see what I mean. Ab initio especially. 300 hours in an Airbus sim ain't the same. Not even the same, as someone put it, as 1,000 hours VFR in a 152. Hell, if you can survive 1,000 hours put-putting around VFR in a 152, I bet you've got some interesting stories about dodging weather, landing on some grass strip and meeting Zeke, the airport dog, landing and trying to find someone to replace your alternator control unit at 11pm on a Sunday night or any of the other myriad kinds of WTF,O? moments that MAKE A GREAT PILOT. Why? Because the onus is ON YOU to make the decision. Do you stick with it, or do you fold? Can you keep your head on straight in a REAL crisis (even if it was one of your own making)?
Ernie Gann said it way back when...when the pressure is on, people are DIFFERENT than they seem to be otherwise. We learn a tremendous amount about ourselves and how to handle people and situations when the heat is on, and it's our skin (or ticket) on the line.
That first 1,000 hours is a CRITICAL consolidation and, yes, vetting phase. Get to the other end, and chances are you're someone who can move up to the next rung. I saw a lot of people drop out of the process during that phase, and it was probably for the better.
All the lowbies and Euro-types breathlessly carping "buh-buh-buh...all that time in the sim!" doesn't make it so. All that means is that you can read a checklist and hang on to your bag of Funions when the sim starts rocking, but at the end of the period, the sim bridge is still going to come down and you'll toodle down the street like nothing happened.
"Buh-buh-buh 'The Military!'". Yea? What about them? They have a pilot training budget per pilot that is an order of magnitude greater than any civilian program will ever have. They also toss people who show no aptitude, do dumb stuff, make stupid decisions or are otherwise horrible individuals. During their "consolidation period", they have strong peer pressure and supervision pre/post flight & non-flying time that would NEVER, EVER happen in the civilian world.
Ain't the same. Never will be.
Richman