Captainfit

Thank you for reading and any input. I am a fairly new CFI with about 320TT with the ability to get my R-ATP, and I currently work for a part 61 flight school that also is involved with 141 training. I currently work around 65-70 hour per month (billed), with about 25-35 hours of that being flight time. I get to make my schedule, and I love what I do. I am the sole CFI at my location, which is nice as I get to manage a little of the daily operations. Some cons would be no guarantee pay, students, or flight hours. Pros are having the ability to be the boss with my schedule to fit in with my other things.

The company I work for has tentatively offered me a position as a CFI at one of our 141 locations (same commute) that has an overflow of students. I would likely be averaging 80-100 hours of flight time there, with mandatory 40 hours per week (Ground/Flight/SIM/preflight/post brief). I would somewhat be in control of my schedule, with the occasional Saturday when weather is bad during the week. Pay is salary, with my current job I can work about 21 hours per week and make the exact same as I would with this new position. Pros for this job is the guarantee pay, students, and flight hours. Cons are more work, less $ per hour, and less flexibility.

My dilemma is this, my wife and I are currently expecting our first baby boy in May. I currently am finishing my BA in aviation online. I also have a small side gig, I have figured out that I could make the new position work, but it will be tight. Is taking on more work, worth the possibility that the industry will recover by the time I have the hours. Or am I getting hours "too quickly for the current industry" to reap the benefits. Would having 1200 hours TT be helpful to get into some heavier metal in the next 12 months.

I have been thinking If I took this new position I could have a lot more hours in 12 calendar months than I could have with my current job, which maybe could get me into a new position flying some heavier metal. Or I could potentially be in a better position with more hours when the next hiring wave begins.

Looking for some input, wisdom, and advice.

flyinthrew

Get through your time building as fast as possible, but be very sensitive to your young family’s need for your time. If that means showing up to your next job 6-8 months later, you’ll never miss it.

Winston

Considering your current position on the totem pole of this industry, you’re going to be making sacrifices and relying on a lot of luck and timing for quite a while. You really want to go FULL STEAM AHEAD as much as possible as early as possible to take advantage of those opportunities when they present themselves, but always be mindful of the sacrifices others are making around you as well.

The reality is that the sacrifices, luck, and timing are going to be a part of your entire career. If you have a good spouse, and you are a good one to her, you’ll make it work.

The hardest years being gone are when your children are young, on both you and your spouse. Now that mine are a bit older and I’ve advanced and we’ve all settled into a routine, we’ve all found balance. That being said, I would not have made it to my career destination if I had not made those many hard sacrifices earlier.

But in the end, nothing is guaranteed.

RustyChain

I was reading and I saw more flight time per month and I wondered why this was even a question, build time as quick as you can nothing else matters. But you're in for a change and you really need to talk to your wife.

rickair7777

There's some uncertainty, but I'd talk it over with your wife and try to make the new opportunity work, just for the flight time. Even if regional hiring doesn't start up soon, there's going to be a backlog of applicants, so more flight time will probably put you closer to the head of the list.

You might get lucky.

But I can't tell you how many people I know got burned by taking that approach, including me. Long story, but a two week delay for family considerations cost me literally years of CA pay and TPIC. I could afford it, because I had other things going on but I still would have liked to have arrived at the career destination a few years sooner than I did.

Captainfit

Thank you for your info!

Captainfit

Thank you for your info! The good thing is, I will be home every night with this job while he is young. I think this will be worth the small sacrifices to get ahead in this career.

Captainfit

Thank your for your info! I have been thinking the same thing, more flight time could get me more desirable when hiring begins. The question is how are the current hiring predictions looking, some have theories that the majors will be hiring eventually soon with the retirements, and early outs they offered.

That is tough to hear, if it isn't sensitive do you mind sharing?

Captainfit

How are things looking for hiring predictions, and the current passenger flow in todays industry? Obviously no one knows the exact answer to that question.

Winston

The massive pilot shortage (especially at the lower tiers of the industry) has not gone away, that can has only been kicked down the road. If anything, the early-outs offered to deal with this downturn will only exacerbate the problem in a year or two’s time. You have to put yourself in a position to capitalize on opportunities at their earliest availability.

One of the truisms I’ve learned about this career is that once you’ve heard that someplace is hiring like crazy and is a great place to work, you’re already on the backside of that curve. Get your ratings and flight time ASAP, because when things start cooking it’s not like you can just snap your fingers and make it happen.

As far as your second question is concerned, this page is updated daily:

https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput