RE: Flight instructor job description
I've been in 8 clubs over the past 40 years, and instructed in most of them, from over 400 members to a dozen. Every club is different, as is every instructor. If you get the chance, you should fly with as many different instructors as possible and you should be able to find a good fit. Some are very regimented, almost overbearing. Others, more fluid - go with the flow types. Smaller clubs though usually have more problems having enough instructors, and their time is more difficult to come by. But even if you are a novice flier, you are learning lots of new tricks of the trade, and can share a lot with other newbies. Especially time consuming is checking out new airplanes, radio installation, engine, weight and balance. Having help there allows the instructor to give more flight time to all.
Now some instructors are finished after they get you to do take-offs, general flying with a loop or roll, and landing. Once they have "solo'ed" you, they expect you are on your own and can fly anytime without their input. Unfortunately there is so much more that you should learn, so if you get cut off there you should look for more advanced training.
One aspect of training is that you tend to maiden lots of new airplanes. Getting them back in one piece is easy with trainers, but you often get to do many hotter airplanes. Be honest about your skills before taking up something that you have little or no experience with. Heavy, high wing loading scale or high speed aircraft, or even a tail dragger can exceed a pilot's experience if all they ever fly are trainer types.