I have the impression that if I started out as a complete newb now in EVE, there would be no way for me to get up to speed and be one of the big guys, running a titan(?)
That's the beauty of Eve - everything is for sale, including pilots, ships, loyalty, and power. Grinding won't get you anywhere. Being one of the big guys is a reflection of one's ability to navigate the social and power structures in Eve more than anything else - a relative newbie starting from scratch can climb the ranks much faster than someone who's been playing for years but lacks the right metagame skills. You're probably right that you'd be unlikely to be one of the big guys, but that's more because of the time commitment than because everyone else has a big head start.
Not quite the same, but in Travian a reliable newish player who can follow instruction and get up to speed can sit a big account and take on pretty big roles quite quickly. And then there is the background spying and account stealing, password stealing etc that is plain fantastic as background intrigue.
That's the beauty of Eve - everything is for sale, including pilots, ships, loyalty, and power. Grinding won't get you anywhere. Being one of the big guys is a reflection of one's ability to navigate the social and power structures in Eve more than anything else - a relative newbie starting from scratch can climb the ranks much faster than someone who's been playing for years but lacks the right metagame skills. You're probably right that you'd be unlikely to be one of the big guys, but that's more because of the time commitment than because everyone else has a big head start.