Yes, but it's a turbo prop, which means that it's not much different than flying a high by-pass turbofan, and virtually no different than flying a turboprop regional airliner. Except that the P-3 is larger than most or all of those.
Thrust reversers vs. reverse pitch on the props. And the P-3 is a many motor. Yes, other than the F-16 so are most jets, but they have the engines close together, rather than well separated. A matter of degree of course, the CRJ's engines appear to be about as far apart as an F-14s.
Overall though flying a P-3 would be closer to flying an airliner than flying a fighter, the P-3 being derived from the Electra airliner. Pilots are likely to have *much* more time at low altitude, with all that implies.
I suspect the story from the P-3 driver got garbled going through a relatively uniformed intermediary.
The only obstacle I would see P-3 guys having getting a commercial job would be less PIC time with three pilots on every flight.