do most photographers avoid using zoom

No.

If "most photographers" avoided zoom lenses with variable aperture, there'd be fewer zoom lenses with variable aperture on the market. Furthermore, there are plenty of fixed aperture zoom lenses available at a range of focal lengths, so it's safe to say that photographers don't have to avoid zooms just to have fixed aperture in most zoom ranges.

I suspect that by photographers you might mean professional photographers, but even so, different photographers have different priorities. Are you talking about sports photography? Landscape? Portrait? Fashion? Photojournalism?

avoid messing up their settings and their established exposure?

I don't think this is a huge priority for "most photographers." When you zoom in or out, you're changing the focal length and therefore the field of view, and you need to be aware of how that affects exposure anyway.

do most photographers avoid using zoom

No.

If "most photographers" avoided zoom lenses with variable aperture, there'd be fewer zoom lenses with variable aperture on the market. Furthermore, there are plenty of fixed aperture zoom lenses available at a range of focal lengths, so it's safe to say that photographers don't have to avoid zooms just to have fixed aperture in most zoom ranges.

I suspect that by photographers you might mean professional photographers, but even so, different photographers have different priorities. Are you talking about sports photography? Landscape? Portrait? Fashion? Photojournalism?

avoid messing up their settings and their established exposure?

I don't think this is a huge priority for "most photographers." When you zoom in or out, you're changing the shot significantly anyway; considering exposure again should be part of that process.