TiredSoul

Historically California, New Mexico, Nevada , Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are THE flight training states since the beginning of WWII.
California and Florida have historically been competing for the highest number of student pilot certificates and commercial certificates.
You can find all this data on the FAA website.
In half of those states I would recommend you do your instrument rating at night.
For one because you have less than 3 IMC days a year and because it’s too hot during the day for the level of concentration needed.
I’ve heard of DPE’s in Nevada that will only do checkrides at night to cut down on the cheating.

Patiszerg

The FL NorthWest panhandle region has got some varied and diverse cloud cover for all four seasons. Spring and summer you've got rain shower type clouds (cumulus), fall and winter you can have a lot of cooler low hanging nimbostratus clouds.. I've lived here my whole life so I know. We've got the most lighting strikes in the USA per square mile! Texas has the most overall but that's due to such a larger landmass than FL.

Duffman

This guy's advice has been really solid. I'd also second trying to get a turbo-prop flying gig in AK, or at least not getting all 1500 hours as a CFI. CFIing is a great starter job, but it isn't an either/or choice where you aren't allowed to do anything else until you have 1500. If you're a good CFI with a positive attitude, it's not hard to network, just don't be too vocal about your intentions of leaving if you aren't 100% sure you can trust your flight school leadership. Some flight school leadership 'gets it' and embraces that they're a stepping stone whereas others take massive offense that you don't want to spend your career making $30 an hour flying Cessnas in the practice area, and they'll do everything they can to throw black marks in your PRIA.

As for where you should do your flight training, I would recommend the Southwest because you'll get more flying days, and as long as you're not living within an hour of the ocean, it's pretty affordable. Plus, I love mountain flying personally.

JohnBurke

On the way to 1,500 hours and the ATP, I towed gliders and banners, sprayed crops, dropped jumpers, flew grand canyon tours, did back country flying, charter, and ambulance work.

If I had to do it today, I wouldn't change anything.

TiredSoul

Do as I say not as I do (did).
Any starter job is exactly what it is and as such it’s limited in its longer term added value.
After 5-600hrs of VFR SE flight instruction you’ll still become a better teacher but no longer a better pilot. You’ll plateau.
Time for IFR instruction, ME and after a couple hundred hours of those, same thing will happen.
Banner towing or Traffic Watch is even less useful and really only good for a short period of time. One season maybe.
With every career step no matter how small you should be filling out an additional column in your logbook.
TT, VFR/IMC, Night, cross country, approaches etc etc etc.
Banner towing gives you one column, TT only.
No cross country no night no nothing else.
Consider the number of columns a measure for the quality of your flight time.
Hence ME/Night/IFR-IMC/cross country being the most ‘valuable’.
I had an instrument student once with a full time job and we did most of his training at night.
Great guy and 30-35hrs night for me extra.
Fast forward to a couple years ago.
I was going to coach/mentor/partially train a kid who was struggling through his training.
Shorty version of the story is things didn’t work out but listed above is exactly what I had in mind for him.
CFI/CFII, instruct till 6-700hrs then a summer job in Alaska that should get him to 135 mins then a turbo prop multi crew in AK and another 6-700hrs of hard core misery with real approaches to get him into an ACMI or a Regional.

youngmd

I am planning my instrument rating all the way to CFI via Sling Pilot Academy out of Torrance airport. I live 12 minutes away from an ATP site in Long Beach, but SPA is faster and cheaper and friendlier.

blueberrypie

I wouldn't change a thing. Flew skydivers, pipeline patrol, and 135 cargo. Got my ratings part 61 cowboy style and paid as much out of pocket as I could. Only ended up with 25k in debt all said and done. Paid it off the first year flying cargo. The stories from my time building days are priceless to me.

TiredSoul

Cowboy style lol.
Yeah I’ve got some stories too….
A XC with the airplane developing a problem and MX at the diversion airport wouldn’t touch it with a 10’ pole.
Had to McGyver couple thangs to fly it home with everyone shaking their heads

goinaround

Agree. It’s the journey, not the destination that you’ll be telling stories about when you’re older. The current hiring environment is a fantastic opportunity……but so many people will be missing out on a lot of adventure. Every time a DC-4 taxis past in Anchorage I smash my face against the glass in awe….

JohnBurke

Really? Every time I hear a radial, I cringe just a little, because I went years when I was never free of exhaust burns on my arms, had punctures and rips from safety wire that never seemed to heal, and didn’t own a stick of clothing that wasn’t stained with 120 weight oil. I can’t say I feel too nostalgic about that.

Are you sure those aren’t DC-6’s that you’re seeing in Anchorage (Everts)? Alaska Air a fuel lost their sole DC-4 in 2020 at Yakataga.