Thanks for the replies everyone. I didn't mean to write off the notion of earning my CFI with my initial post there, it's just that at my current stage at the moment, anticipating some very hefty loan bills to arrive in the coming 2-3 months, and given my current financial status I feel that it may be somewhat irresponsible to initiate CFI training at THIS current time. My concern is that the loan bills and however much I'm paying for my training may be tough to mitigate on a restaurant waiter's weekly income(it's all I have at the moment).


And Timbo: Thanks for your reply and insight. I didn't intend to completely swear off the military route. Actually, this week I reached out to a former educator of mine-he used to be a counselor at an aviation-related camp I attended at a young age and coincidentally (to my own surprise) ended up being my professor for a few of my classes at DWC and eventually the interim dean of aviation during the teach-out. He basically said 'either find the money for CFI training' or go the military route. I say this because he is in frequent contact with an ANG C-130 unit in RI and offered to write me a recommendation for an interview and (hopefully) a pilot slot with the unit. I expressed some apprehension about this because my chief concern is that after committing to the military and entering the training for the position the LAST thing I'd want would be to wash out and fly a desk for the rest of my commitment. He told me that the ANG works differently as you are given a pilot slot and expected to hold that slot throughout training until you eventually report back to the unit to begin flying their aircraft. This is opposed to the method where a great amount of applicants are taken and eventually whittled down to the best applicants. Can you comment on this? I know I can't expect to get a hard guarantee that if accepted into the unit I'll make it through the training unquestionably, but it would be nice to have some confidence in the process. I don't want to set limits for myself this early on-in fact I feel like this is a terrible mentality for any aviation professional- but I have to also acknowledge that I do only have a little over 340 hours and as such posses a current skill-set that reflects just that. Though with the military, the promise of a pension and early (for my age) access to heavy equipment does sound like a great deal. I know the military route isn't for everyone and I'm not sure exactly how I'll fair, but I'd love to hear some opinions on this.


Anyway before I get too long-winded, I appreciate the replies thus far. I plan to test the waters a bit on the civilian side of things, and as such if anyone has any suggestion of EVEN where to begin looking I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks again and best regards.

-Chris