Thanks for the updates! As someone who just finished his instrument rating in flight school I really enjoy reading stories like this.

Haven't been checking this forum in a while, glad to hear your milestone.

Thanks for sharing

BStill- I am with you and on a similar path. 20 years of corporate life (although it has been good to me) is enough for me, can't imagine another 20 years in the grind. I completed all ratings through CFII/MEI 18 years ago but life happened and had to go a different path. Now I am in the position to as you said "try for the encore" career change. Currently rolling through and entire instrument ground just as refresher, hope to take CFII check ride in soon. 44 so trying to make a run at it due to pace of hiring that should continue for years. Have a good gig lined up for some instructing and have made some good contacts that have airplanes and want to go pound out hours. Trying to keep the day job as long as possible before cutting the chord.

Hopping in on this - been heavily involved on the corporate side of aviation, but not a pilot (about 20 hours over the years). That being said, I have looked into both P.61 & P.141 extensively for the last few years and after having been involved in many high level compensation reviews recently (p.91 & p.135), now seems to be the time to pull the trigger and make a career change... In my eyes, P.61 clearly is cheaper, however given the current climate of the industry, both private and commercial, along with the fact that having the same CFI throughout the majority of your training is extremely improbable due to hiring campaigns, the P.141 route is the clear winner (cost vs. time/uncertainty). While more expensive and not nearly as personalized; timing, availability and resources will be much better than what a mom & pop shop can provide due to CFI shortages and shear fleet size in today's world. It seems to me that if you are a self starter and able to dedicate all of your time to ATP or other similar programs, the ATP/CAE/L3 route makes the most sense given the pace and focus of their programs. Again, I am not a pilot and I have no personal experience with the P.141 schools, so PLEASE correct me if my logical reasoning is flawed - all I care about is what makes the most sense (time, money, and placement) in obtaining a lucrative position today's commercial airline world.

The flaw in your reasoning is that the quality and schedule reliability of the school is determined by it's managers, not it's certification category. Both 61 and 141 schools can be good, bad, or indifferent depending on how they're run. You need to do the research on the particular schools in question.

Be aware that in the case of the national chains, different locations can have vastly different operations, so you need to research those on the local level. Maybe hang out in the parking lot and talk to current students.

And by "research" I don't mean asking the people who run the school, they will generally lie to you compulsively.

Caveat on that: A good small 61 school could go sideways if they have few CFI's and they lose one or two of their top people. They might not be able to replace them. If it were me, I might look for a school with older instructors who are not airline bound.

This is great advice that I should have sought out before I signed up. ATP has a forum similar to this one, and I realized when it was far too late that most active "members" there are all on their payroll getting compensation to disperse the kool-aid.

Congrats! I just came across this thread. I was in a similar position as you in 2019 when you started. At 35 I had 850 hours flying mostly for fun. I cut my living expenses, quit my corporate job and CFI'd to get the 1500. COVID put a bump in the timeline and I had to find some other work, but when regionals started hiring again in the fall of 2021 I was ready. I am very glad I did it. Best of luck to you going forward!