Meh, I felt I needed 12 minutes as a non starter to guarantee me playing time and a chance to have a good grade. Since I changed to 12 minutes, the "plot" seems to have accelerated with me about to be offered a starting spot.Shorter times so you can just cash out on the salary VC and do more drills faster. After you get your endorsements, it kinda adds up. Playing games aren't really worth it either as its faster doing certain drills for badges/upgrades.
Switch cutscenes in undocked are noticably better, though still with slow down before and after the dialogue.