I think I sat in meetings for 8 months before I sought out a sponsor. I asked a few. Some weren't prepared to do this. Some had too many sponsees. I was fired by one of them. I am thankful for their honesty. In the end, I found a great sponsor.
I wish I sought out a sponsor much earlier but each person moves at their own pace. I agree with some other comments. It's important to actually work on the steps with a sponsor. My life got better by going to meetings. My life changed when I started working the steps with a sponsor. My life changed again once I started to sponsor other fellas.