1000 hours? Enough to fly a Cessna 172/206.
$175,000 to get where you are at? You must have done something wrong somewhere.
I learned a lot and did a fair amount of hard flying over those couple months. How could it be better to buzz around smashing bugs in local practice areas for 250 hours training people? I mean that with the utmost respect to the CFI profession. But, tell me truthfully, if a CFI at any level could honestly EARN an extra surplus of $35,000 or so, that he / she would not spend it to log QUALITY time and experience on a high performance twin turboprop airplane weighing more than 12,500lbs. to further their career or better their chances to move on to the next step.....REALLY?!?!? As long as the program incorporates good training methods / practices, and your not sitting in an otherwise 'paid' seat? Pilot in Command is Pilot in Command...it all depends on the person. I've flown with guys with 6,000hrs PIC turbine who are as brain dead as a 300hr student pilot.
It seems to me that you have made some wrong decisions, and after burning such a huge amount of money to arrive nowhere shows that until now you have really been not successful, so at that point you should refrain from judging the instructor path "smashing bugs in local practice area", or refrain from commenting on 6000 hours PIC turbine who are brain dead.
It seems to me you are the one in the bad position right now, not the flight instructor you are not, not the turboprop captain you are not.
It is very possible you'll get your chance with some regionals, but being hired by a regional with $175,000 of spending is nothing to be proud of.
I'd rather be a flight instructor smashing bugs in the practice area with a basic CPL and instructor rating.
I learned a lot and did a fair amount of hard flying over those couple months.
A couple of months in a P2F scam that's only an introduction of flight I am afraid to say.