Originally Posted by FullyInvolved

firemedic, very similar situations. I still love my job, but I don't know if it's something I want to put another 30 years in. I'm 23 with about 5 years on. Like a lot of people, I've got the dream/end goal of being a Captain on a widebody and the 20 years in-and-out idea may not get me there.

I did an intro flight with a flight school the other day and loved it. I think I'm going to stick with my plan:

• Stay at the FD, use my salary (~$80k/yr) to help pay for zero time to CFI.
• Start on bachelor's (have two AAs currently) --- state offer free tuition waiver for firefighters.
• Take flight lessons on my 20 off days a month. Then, hopefully instruct to build time until I get on with a regional.

Question for the folks on here. What's a reasonable amount of time to get from zero to CFI? I know the most extreme end is probably ATP Flight School at ~6 months but that's not an option (not willing to quit my full time career).

I talked to several flight schools and the time frame has ranged from 6 months - 2 years. The flight school that said 6 months was suggesting multiple lessons a day (2 each off day, approximately 40 lessons a month).

I want to find the balance of getting this done quickly so I can start building time and working towards a regional. Is the idea of taking multiple lessons a day a bad idea? It seems like going to a 'fast-track' flight school like ATP would require multiple lessons a day.

Thanks again ladies and gents.