Looking for decent CFI job in Florida.
 

I am going to relocate to Florida from CA. I am looking for a quality school, Academy or University type. I am curious to hear from presently or previously employed CFI's about some of the schools. I am leaning toward a good school which will look good on a resume.
I am presently employed at a smaller school in CA. I want to work at one other school to help round-out my experience before moving on.
I have all my ratings with 800 hrs. TT, 500+ Dual, & 90 ME.
I'm not interested in applying at any small regional airline.

Can't help you with any big schools, but welcome to APC!

Man you've got googobbs of flight schools, academies, blah blah blah blah to choose from. All I can say is do the research and pick one.

As far as CFI'ing from what I've read, I would suggest Ari-ben or ATP. Actually, no matter which website I go to it seems that all schools are looking for CFI's.



atp

Thanks for the feedback atpwannabe.
I have been researchin'. Picking one is hard. The websites are all bright and shiny. Students or employees are, without a doubt, the best gauge. This is all part of the research.
Thanks for the help!

LA8 AV8TR

ERAU
Go check them out.

You WILL find a high paying CFI job over at KTMB airport down in Miami. I fly for one of the 4 or so very busy flight schools on the airport.

Thanks for the help!!

LA8:

In Florida....remember...the higher the cost of living the higher the salary should be. Just to let you know, the average hourly wage in Palm Beach County, FL right now is $17/hr. This is for a non-aviation vocation.


atp

go to Orlando flight training in Kissimmee. $30 hour or $40 with a 12 month contract. fly over 100 hour a month.

You know guys, with what's about to come down the pipeline as far as hiring goes in the Regional airline market....let's just say hiring period....CFI'ing may not be a bad way to go for some. I know I had plan on getting my CPL w/instrument & ME rating ; foregoing my SE/CPL and CFI and building time in a ME a/c the best way I could. I dunno now :(. A lot is going on behind the scenes. I'm having to modify my plans already.



atp

Not sure who you are holding out for exactly? With those times, you should be able to or be close to being able to get an application in with Comair, Republic, Expressjet(if they start hiring again), etc. Seems like the hiring cycle is starting to take a downturn. You might end up regretting sitting back for too long....or maybe not.

AllATP has locations in JAX, FLL, Stuart and they pay ok...can get lots of ME time if that is what you are looking for. They will work you like a dog though. Good luck.

Your absolutely right ATP. I have been watching that myself. CFI'ing does have a consistent job outlook.

FIT (Florida Tech)....www.fitaviation.com in KMLB. Low cost of living, nice area, good school.

Stay away from Ari Ben. They give you lots of multi time, but they are one of the crappiest schools in the country. There's no reason to go there unless you need quick multi time to jump to a regional airline. If you're not looking to jump to a regional right away, go to a good school with good maintenance.

Im not a CFI but i can tell you some info about my school.

Location: KTMB (Tamiami Airport. Miami, FL)
School: ADF Airways www.adfairways.net
Pay: $20/hr
Cost of Living: Miami is not cheap!
QOL: I could say Average. The owner is a woman, she is Colombian. You can fly a lot if you choose to. They have an agreement with Miami Dade College so they get students from there too.They will not BUST YOUR BUTT. They are somehow flexible with you.. (schedules). Lots of Colombian students, some of them are pretty good looking :) . The Chief Pilot is a great guy. He is a Captain for Eagle. This is probably not the best school of florida, but its ok. Most of the instructors from here go to ExpressJet.

You could also check another school named "Dean International". It is also located at KTMB and I heard they pay a little bit more.. i'd say about 26$ an hour. I think its the biggest school of the airport, they have probably 5 times more airplanes than ADF Airways. However every time I hear on the news a small airplane crashed in Miami... it is one of them. Maybe its because they have about 60% of the aircrafts from KTMB, but who knows... just keep that in mind. Their Owner is from India. So their main business is people who come from there.

Hope this helps!

Jose.

Thanks again for all the help! I have been using the info. to help narrow down my choices. Add a school ,drop a school.

in florida you always have, ATP located in jax as well as other places state wide, delta connections academy (my old school) from what i understand they are hurting bad for guys, I have a friend working for an operation out of st. Augestine (in my opinion the nicest city as well as nicest airport in fl) making 18/hr plus cheap living. lots of choices do your research

Go for a university. They typically have fantastic bennefits and compensation is usually higher than average. It goes through the roof if you're looking to get a masters degree.

I'm looking at DCA right now. Although, this is the first I have heard of St. Agusetine, FL. I'll check that out.
Thanks,
LA8 AV8R

The Universities also have good points. But, they take much longer to respond. I have been looking into this for awhile now. And I have gotten alot of good advice. I look forward to paying it forward!
Thanks,
LA8 AV8R

I'm looking to do the same thing, except I'm relocating from Indiana. I'm looking in the Daytona Beach area. Let me know how things work out.

Here's some for the schools desperate for instructors and some of the info I have:

Air Orlando- 141 FBO- Mostly new and very well maintained ACFT- $18/ I think

Orlando Flight Training- FAA/ JAA training, mainly foreign (Brit and Indian)- Pay ends up being whatever you negotiate $20- $40/hr

Ormond Beach Aviation- FAA/ JAA- $29/hr- Could work there while waiting for ERAU

Regional Airline Academy- Not much personal knowledge, except always looking for instructors- Campuses in DeLand and Ft. Pierce

FlightSafety- Good pay and benefits- Very "corporate" orientated- VERY standardized- Paying (I believe) $55k for two year CFI's

I've been instructing in FL for awhile. PM me with any questions you have.

I hear Epic Aviation in New Smyrna really needs CFIs. I work at Air America in Daytona. It's a great place to work. However, if you're looking to work full time you might want to look elsewhere since we are not starving for CFIs right now.

ERAU Daytona gives great benefits.
Epic Aviation New smyrna is a good job too.

the guys at sterling flight training, where i have done my private and inst. seem to be pretty happy. mx is excellent, and the owners are very nice. pay is around 20? and cost of living is not bad either.

I know it was already mentioned, but I currently instruct for FIT Aviation in MLB. Melbourne's a relatively nice area with a low cost of living. School is in the process of moving into a new multi-million dollar building and buying a new fleet of glass warriors and seminoles. Pay is good for full-time instructors with MEI is about $23hr. No benefits except senior instructors unfortunetly.

LA8 have you found a CFI job in Florida yet? Would love to know!

Embry-Riddle is the place to be if you want to be a career instructor. Decent pay, great health care, tuition assistance.... awesome planes....