Longbow64

I'm just about to finish up my commercial multi/single. I'm going to get my CFI after that. Most of the places I called about CFI jobs says they need at least 100 hours dual given! How can I get 100 hours of dual time if I can't get hired as a CFI to begin with?

FlyingPirate

I suggest looking for a place that you can do your CFI and once you are finished they will hire you on as a flight instructor for them.

Most CFI's, including myself, begin instructing at the same school they did their training.

Hope this helps

proskuneho

Unfortunately the market has slowed dramatically. Just a few months ago, some schools were hiring anyone with a pulse. Don't be discouraged, things will turn around. Can you instruct where you are at now? Also - if people are telling you 100 hrs dual given as a requirement, they are just trying to screen out some guys that just want to build time at the expense of others. If you are genuinely interested in being a professional instructor (even if only for a year or so), then show up and talk to the person in charge of hiring yourself. When I was hiring instructors, the people that I had met obviously moved higher in the stack (unless they were obviously not good prospects!) Good luck.

Planespotta

Get out and network! Talk to/call everyone you know and ask around. Ask to be connected to people your friends know and people they know. Get the word out that you're looking for a job!

Amazon.com: Job Hunting for Pilots: Networking your way to a flying job (Professional Aviation series): Gregory N. Brown: Books

Ewfflyer

It's the Aviation Catch 22, everyone wants experience, but a small percentage are willing to give people that chance. Once you get to know an operation, they tend to waive some of those "requirements" and also as mentioned above that if you train there, they are usually willing to hire you in afterwards if there's an opening since you know how that specific operation works.

rickair7777

Like others have said, your CFI rating(s) are your meal ticket...find a school that has a hsitory of hiring their own grads, and is likely to need some folks soon.

When you go in to discuss doing your CFI ask them flat out if they will hire you at the end...they may not make an absolute committment (because for all they know you might turn out to be dangerous), but they should be pretty positive about the idea. Talk to some current students and instructors to verify what the salesman says.

Be aware that some of the big schools will "hire" every graduate...but since that policy produces far more CFI's then they need, you will go into a pool and maybe fly once a month when things are slow.

As for hiring only experienced instructors...I would do the same thing if I owned a school and supply and demand permitted. Brand-new insructors are usually not polished, and while they may know their manuevers and knowledge, they usually don't know how to interact with the variety of students they will encounter. It's not an issue of "giving someone a chance"...if there are more experienced folk available you owe it to your customers to not use them as guinea-pigs. Kind of like getting a haircut at the Beauty School...

You could also go freelance...find an airport with a need for a CFI, set up shop locally, and you'll have 100 hours and more options in a few months.

Riverside

which places wants 100 hours of dual?

RomeoSierra

Might look into getting you cfi-i after you get your initial. I was in your shoes 2 months ago when i finished my cfi and my flight school said they had what they needed for cfis. I was going to all the fbos and they all said they like people to have their II. I was lucky when my old school called me and I got a 4 students where everyone else has 8-10 students.

Mason32

Do not forget that you do not HAVE to work at any of those places. You can hang your own shingle and make your own business. Visit a few local airports, write down the tailnumbers of the based aircraft. Stop into the FBO's at those fields and see if they're looking for CFI's... also make note of the rate they charge. Use the FAA registry database and send all the based owners a postcard offering a good rate on their BFR's, and IPC's... knock 5 bucks off whatever the FBO was charging for their CFI's.
If you want to really get fancy, cross reference the owners with the license database.... you may find yourself a few owners who have bought planes to learn in rather than renting... it is much cheaper to do it that way (at least in the northeast) and is much more common than folks think...
put a free advertisement in the classified section of AOPA, Barnstormers and anywhere else you can list it... even Gliem now has a free CFI list online.
Sign up for the FAA safety seminar notification list and start going to the seminars... meet the FSDO folks and offer to help set up and such... do it a few times and become a regular... they will eventually think of you when they start looking for Air Safety Volunteers.... which looks nice on your resume, and on your business cards... you will get referal work from the FSDO that way as well.
It is slow to start, but I know several people who make a nice living teaching and do NOT work for FBO's. Write a few articles for Atlantic Flyer or your regional aviation rag... become a regular contributor... you would be surprised how quickly your name can get known by alot of people.
Eventually, you can be able to pick and choose who you will teach, and what you will charge... another friend of mine gets $1,000 per day mentoring/teaching TBM700/850, Baron and Bonanza. He works about 5 days a month in an airplane. He also travels all over the US to do it, but his expenses are paid by the folks he's teaching. In spite of what you see in the typical FBO's, there are plenty of people willing to pay top dollar for a professional teacher. He pretty much has it made... The rest of the time he is at home writing editorials, marketing himself, attending simcom a few times each year (for each type)... he's basically retired having fun.

places like www.vistaprint.com will make business cards for you for free (their ad is on the back in small print) and do postcards really cheap too....

proskuneho

Excellent post, Mason32.