Drake,
You can see on ATP’s website that instructors make around $29.5/hr for flight lesson. There are other incentives like students passing their checkrides first-time and tuition reimbursement with airlines. See below link:
The most common path is instructing to time build; however, I know some that have taken the direction of being a charter, aerial photography or banner tower pilot. Even though I’m sure towing a banner is challenging and rewarding, there is something about instructing that really enhances your skills. Below I quoted myself from another thread posting summarizing the different types of jobs and ways you can build time and earn pay.
I am safe to say that while I took sacrifices and mitigated my desire of “wants” I was able to pay my loan and work at ATP. We are humans and sometimes when we see something we like, we can develop this desire to “want.” If you do things right and budget yourself, occasionally you may be able to get that “want.”
Brady