Negatives about ATP:
Lots of below average instructors there, why? Because they zoomed through their flight training and have no idea what they are doing!
ATP cares about one thing, MONEY. They don't care about your flight training experience or going at your speed. When you start to complain about anything in training, ATP doesn't have a problem reminding you what you signed up for and that you will be charged more or dropped from the program if you decide to deviate from the plan.
Oh yea and that guaranteed instructor job they're flashing in your face? Here's how that works: All across the country at ATP locations, wanna be aviators are progressing through their flight training at break neck speed, learning by fire hose, hopefully retaining some knowledge. Once a student is done with their program, they are offered the awesome instructor position at ATP
.The student will then go to Florida where they will go through the ATP instructor training course. Then will you go instruct? No
, because there will not be any open instructor positions at any of the training facilities.
In the meantime, you'll be in Florida at their call center, taking calls from the next group of saps until an instructor position opens up somewhere. When a spot opens, regardless of whether or not you want to go to that training center, that's where you're going. Forget being able to pick where you instruct, although they may allow a change later on.
So now a brand new instructor goes off to teach for the first time in a an area of the country that they may be completely unfamiliar with, the making of a recipe for disaster. Oh and remember how you sat in the call center waiting for an instructor spot to finally open? There will be lots of guys behind you wanting your instructor position and ATP can't just keep filling up the call center, they need instructors to leave and if they need to, they will help you leave so they can keep moving people along. Make one little slip up and you'll be told your services are no longer required.
As an instructor, ATP will pay you with a 1099, meaning you are never truly an ATP employee, you're just someone doing contract work for them, so getting rid of you at the drop of a hat is easily done. Oh and by the way, enjoy that 1099 come tax season.
Don't do ATP, it's designed to make them money, not to help you become a good pilot.