That's just for your basic VFR certification. You can fly anytime day or night, but you're restricted to clear weather. If you want to be able to fly when it's not clear, i.e. IFR conditions, you need a separate instrument rating. And if you're flying long-distance, you definitely want that rating, otherwise you might find yourself routing to hell and back to avoid getting into low visibility.
If you want to be able to do any cost sharing with other people, you need a commercial certificate on top of that.
Wanna fly something with a bit more speed? You'll need a twin-engine rating then. Which also means getting your "complex" endorsement, because most of them have retractable landing gear.
Not saying it isn't worth doing (because it is), but it's not "just" the initial 6-15k and 50 hours to get your certificate. And unlike a lot of day-to-day laws, FAA regulations are there for a reason. Most of them are written in the blood of dead pilots and passengers.
IFR is practically a must have, sure. Atleast if you want to fly from one region to another or if you want to be able to fly more often.
The endorsements are just a luxury though in my opinion and most are relatively easy/inexpensive to obtain compared to the certifications from what I understand. A cessna 182 will get 1-3 people across the country reasonably.
Obviously each person would need to do their own research to make a determination as to whether or not pursuing a pilot certification is worth it and what other training they might need for their own "mission". Its definitely not like getting a drivers license.
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