Hence the reason why CFI pay is as low as it is, because it's on the poop end of the proverbial totem pole. Everyone is looking to get to the majors. Everything in this industry is based off of that $200k a year 777/747 airline captain job flying to Europe 4 times a month. Whether that is your goal in life or not, you are going to deal with it.

I was making more as a CFI when I left to join the USAF than I would have if I had gotten hired with a regional (which was my intent before 9/11). I would have taken a pay cut to go to the right seat of an RJ. Granted, I worked at one of the well known pilot factories out there. I was making over $15 an hour with a medical and dental package, life insurance, 401k and disability coverages. Flew brand new equipment and in the 1.5 years I was there, I hadn't had one mechanical incident that had me even close to soiling myself. Student incidences, well that's a given for any CFI and after some time in the right seat, you begin to predict these kinds of things before they even happen. I got to fly about 20-25 hours a week on average, sometimes more. I put 18 students through a rating of some sort, half of which were instrument students, which I believe made me a much better instrument pilot. Working at a large flight school was great for building hours and making a bit more $$ than teaching at the average FBO, but there was a lot of politics and drama that I don't miss. With over 125 CFI's working there, you can imagine how much back stabbing, brown nosing, and certain females screw'n their supervisors for a multi upgrade went on.

Before that, I worked at a small FBO (that will remain nameless) for 2 weeks before I told the owner to kiss my arse and that I wasn't coming back. He wasn't even a private pilot and he owned a flight school. Anyway, he was a first glass d**che bag and I told him that. He tried to make me fly an unairworthy airplane and when I said I wouldn't fly it until he fixed it, he didn't like that too much. It's one thing to have a few screws missing or alittle bit of cord showing on a tire, but this guy had a GPS installed in the aircraft without it being entered in the weight and balance forms. Like I'm going to fly that around and wind up getting ramp checked somewhere. What would have taken to enter that in the forms correctly? Anyway... that is when I decided my $250 a week, mostly sitting on my arse CFI job wasn't worth it and left for "bigger and better things".

Overall, I enjoyed being a CFI and wouldn't mind doing it again part-time one day. Of course I wouldn't expect a career out of it though. There were times I absolutely hated it and couldn't wait for the day I got hired by a regional, but everything is relative. Especially when I'd have students showing up unprepared and wasting mommy and daddy's money. There are times in the Air Force when I'd be willing to take a 2/3 pay cut to go back and be a CFI (like when I'm doing bureaucratic desk work from 8-5, 5 days a week). If there's one thing about pilots, we are the select bunch who never cease to find something to b*tch about. I miss flying little airplanes. It was fun. It was more "hobby fun" than "career fun" though.