Well then. Just spend maybe 2.5 hours on my first solid campaign in .54a. I honestly don't see why anyone would complain about "grind"; in that time, I got to mid-range level 22 and put together a neat little fleet. My kitted-out Odyssey, a Medusa and an Enforcer, a pair of Gladius wings, and one Phaeton and Buffalo (destroyer-class fuel and cargo ships respectively), with another 160kish credits and around 50kish credits worth of parts and supplies in my base. All of my crew are veteran at least, and I've got a solid cadre of 80ish elite crew from my time in the Medusa.
Minimal time, minimal effort, and I'm already at the point where I can take down anything but a TTT/Hegemony battlegroup with 3+ capitals and full support. Once I get my fleet points a bit higher I'll buy one of the TTT capital carriers, a few wings of heavy fighters, and start targeting the Hegemony. That'll take maybe another 1-1.5 hours of gameplay, tops.
Incidentally, I'm loving the ship-specific special features. Phase shift makes Hounds far less annoying, but the special for the Odyssey (+50% weapons damage at the expense of not being able to use your shields, functionally infinite duration) is amazing for my playstyle (namely, get in close and open up with a twin plasma cannon broadside); it can take down anything smaller than a cruiser with a single volley through both shields and armor.
Hell, with that boost my burst PD lasers are killing off shielded frigates