I live in san diego and drive up to Perris or Elsinore every weekend. I do not recommend shopping by price exclusively. Like the new wind tunnel program at Perris is really good and it is only a few miles from Elsinore. Perris also has great load organizer programs for once you are licensed. Elsinore would be the alternate choice to Perris. Again don't focus on prices. In the grand scheme of things, the cost of getting your A license is a small fraction of what you spend overall. So focus more on which DZ and it's training program is more appealing to you whether that is Perris, Elsinore or San Diego.

tl;dr: Getting into skydiving with the sole intent to become a tandem instructor is a terrible idea.

First off, you need to pass your AFF course and earn your A license. This takes a minimum of 25 jumps and a couple thousand or so dollars. What if you decide during this phase that skydiving isn't for you? I'm a solo jump instructor, and I see it happen all the time. Students will get a few jumps into their progression and then just stop showing up.

Let's say you stick with it and get your A license. You then need to buy gear. This will set you back at least a few thousand dollars more. As you build fun jumps, you might want better gear -- open your wallet. You are also going to be spending a lot of time at the DZ. I hope your weekends are free, because they won't be anymore.

So you made it to 100+ jumps and want to earn your coach rating. This is the first step to being an instructor. This rating isn't hard to get, but you need to know what you're doing. 100 jumps is the bare minimum (I had >500 jumps when I took my coach course). Again, I've seen people get their coach rating, dabble in it a little bit, and leave the world of instructing never to come back. It isn't for everyone.

A few hundred jumps later, you're ready to get your TI rating. Per FAA regulations, this takes a minimum of 500 jumps and three years in the sport. Notice again the word "minimum". Most TIs have way more than 500 jumps, even when they first take the TI course, because nobody who has made it to that point got into skydiving with the end goal to become a TI.

Let's say you got your TI rating. It's not as glamorous as you think. The pay is nowhere near enough to live on, unless maybe you're at one of the large drop zones like Perris or Eloy. Even then, you're going to be working your ass off and not making anything near what IT pays. Also, if a student so much as twists an ankle, you're going to be shitting your pants worrying about whether they might try suing you, waivers be damned.

Am I discouraging existing skydivers from earning their TI rating? No. Everyone's experience is different. I was a TI for a while, and I stopped doing it after ~100 tandems. I just didn't like doing it. A different fun jumper might enjoy it. You do you.

Am I discouraging a non-skydiver from getting into the sport with the intent to become a TI? If it's the only reason you're thinking about starting skydiving, that's a really bad idea and you are making a huge and expensive mistake. Would you approach any other hobby with zero experience thinking that this is the lifestyle you want, you're going to pour everything you have into it and eventually become a hot shot instructor? No. You wouldn't. Take it one step at a time.

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