Tough Choice
 

OK so....

22yrs old, college grad, CFI.

1. I currently instruct at a part 141 school in a small town. Nothing to do here. I fly anywhere from 15-25 hours a week work another part time job at the airport to help pay the bills. I know I'll have steady flying, building time, but there are absolutely ZERO connections out here. No one with any money flys in here.

2. I have the opportunity to get a job working the desk at a larger airport flight school. Working my way into a cfi position. I would live at home, no bills. Plenty of money running around and contacts galore. Would have the time/ money to get my CFII.

option 1 would be more helpful for going to a regional since I'm steadily building time.
option 2 would be more helpful for doing something corporate or being a charter pilot.

I'm down for either.

don't know what to do.

Career Goals: Fly for an international airline. OR make connections and work into a corporate gig.

Hours are always important whether it would be mins for hiring, being competitive, or for corp/charter insurance mins. How do you know that one of the many "contacts galore" would create any kind of job. If you are sure about making contacts I would go that way since you will soon or later get a cfi job and build hours again. It will be awhile before new hires are put into the mix especially low hour guys/gals.

It will be up to you to figure it out and don't let someone on the internet decide for you.

I don't suppose you can keep the CFI job at the smaller airport and work the desk part time at the larger school?

USMCFLYR

How are the dating opportunities at option 2? That's what always killed me about small towns, how the chicks were so dippy.

Haha, awesome!

To the OP, how many hours of Dual Given do you have right now? Just having a few hundred hours of dual given puts you far in front of all those "Wet CFIs" who have 0 under "Dual Given." If that was the case, going to the desk job may be better.

While it may no guarantee a job, being at a busier airport will help. So many people I know got a few hours of multi here, a ride in in a king air there, and so on just from being around it. Plus, you said it pays better you may have luck buying a few hours on the side to stay current until students roll around.

Although ~15 hours/week is not that bad... you might get a LITTLE better at another school, but even then you wont be making as much. In one year you will have made almost 800 hours. Assuming you have at least 250 now, that puts you over 1000! That's a really good number to be at, keep it up and try finding some multi time on the side.

Hoping someone walks through the door and says "hey how would you like to fly right seat in a King Air, Pilatus, ect...." is slim at best. Take the sure thing and build your hours. You're going to need as many hrs as you can get with all the qualified guys on the street right now.

Or, Option 2 would be to locate and target an older woman who owns her own airplane (find your local WASP or 99 chapter)... :D

Right now a job that keeps you flying is very important. Unless you already have 1000+ hours, I'd stay where you're at if you can afford to live there. If you move and don't fly for awhile, or get a super slow start, it doesn't matter if someone had a job opportunity as you wouldn't have the hours to satisfy their insurance.

Now you said you could live at home, so obviously the financials would be easier there and you can put up some savings, but once again, can you keep flying?

I have around 300 dual given, 650 TT. I also can fly skydivers any weekend I want to stay current and what not. Girls aren't an issue. I have a steady girlfriend. Most of my friends/golfing buddies and are in the same town as the bigger airport. I'm pretty much guaranteeing myself a CFI job at the other place because i will be in contact with all the other students/pilots/cfi's that go through there.

Thanks for the advice guys, keep it coming

I'm not too sold on going the regional route. I'd like to find a good corporate gig rather than do airlines, which is why I'd want to move to the bigger airport

I think your TT and instruction are good numbers to be marketable.
Now go for the contacts.

Its been my experience that my opportunities have come from who I know not necessarily what I know.

Good luck!
- Arvin

I'm sorry but 650tt is'nt marketable unless flying jumpers or banner tow. Even the "looked down upon" carriers want a minimum of 1000tt. I understand you want to sidestep the regional route and I don't blame you but 650tt doesnt meet alot of insurance requirements for higher performance aircraft.
Say you got on flying as SIC in a King Air, can you log the time??? No, unless you have an 8410, 297 and are checked out in the aircraft by a check airman. Even then you can only log the time that you control the aircraft.
I know this because, I sat as an SIC in a King Air 200 for almost a year and was only able to log 50hrs AFTER I was checked out in the aircraft. I couldnt log any of the time prior and this was a 91 gig.
Build your time as much as you can as fast as you can.