I think that's my biggest PFS qualm. You spend as much time at level 1 (terrible) as you do at level 10 (fun).
You can take slow progression at higher levels. Half the gold, xp and prestige...but it doubles how long you play the character... 6x at higher levels.
Hunh I missed where you could change that on a level by level basis. Thanks Saiman, that's good to know!