Certainly the XP boost was considerable. Someone in the FC took mining from 51 to 80 in 2 days.

He focused first on gathering all items he hadn't previously gathered then unlocked collectibles. He was 69 before he started unlocking custom deliveries and never did touch leves. He had 5 Squadron Survival manuals and bought a few more of the Commercial manuals with the scrip he was getting from collectibles. We also had Earth and Water II up as one of our FC actions on the second day he was gathering. He said he was impressed with Quick Gathering, it made things so much faster for him.