flyinfinn86

Newly certified CFI, CFII, and MEI. Wondering if anyone knows of an outift willing to give a young rookie a shot at either flight instructing or anything else... Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much!

snippercr

Do you have any time under "Dual Given"? As it stands right now, as with most places in aviation, there is stiff competition. Instructors who have been laid off from sinking flight schools, furloughed airline people, all with thousands of hours and thousands of hours as instructor.

It's always recommended to try staying at the school you got your CFI since hopefully they will let you instruct a bit there. Even if you get 50 or 100 hours, it puts you ahead of all the other 0 hour CFIs when trying to get a job at a faster pace flight school. Having sign offs for a few private, instrument or commercial students is helpful too. See if your current school will hire you, even part time to try getting a few hours. That would help tie you over until you get to a better place.

Good luck and congrats on passing the beast of a CFI oral. I've had students I've sent off for CFI ratings and I do not envy them. But we've all done it!

flyinfinn86

Unfortunately the owner/lead flight instructor at the part 61 school I did my training in is extremely tough to get a long with. I could go on forever, however he has a reputation for being a very arrogant person yet he has tremendous flying credentials and that is why I have stuck with him. He has offered to give me students if new ones join up due to slow business, yet every time a new student joins he just takes them. I even offered to instruct for free just to get the time. So no... I have no dual given...I am fresh out of instructor school trying everything I can to find a job. Too many applicants with much more experience then I do.

fjetter

Even if the guy is a grade A jerk do not ever offer to instruct paying students for free. You put a lot of time and effort into getting those ratings do not degrade them by working for free.

Not knowing how big the school is, its common for full-time guys to scoop up all the students when its slow. The school and the instructors have bills to pay and owners know if they have good instructors with drying up pools of students they will look for other oppurtunities.

Network as best you can to generate your own students. If you bring the buisness in the door then its only fair to have the student fly with you.

jsfBoat

If I've learned something about the aviation industry,from instructing, everything is temporary;even jerk bosses that you may not get along with. So try to put up with it until you can get another job, otherwise it may be a while before something happens. It's rough right now to get an instructing job. I've soloed 4 people and sent one guy to take his PPL ride, and schools have turned me down due to lack of experience.

You can always do a search-engine search "Flight Instructor Jobs in Wisconsin". Some of the results will be old, but you might get lucky. A few jobs I applied for on Wednesday by doing this method, I was called the next day, so I have 2 interviews next week lined up that I have to plan to get to.

I have to agree, never offer to fly for free. You're a commercial pilot, and if you do anything, you should get paid the same as the guy standing next to you. I've told some of my friends who wanted to "fly for free" that I'd get Medieval on them if I found out they worked for free.

flyinfinn86

I agree man. It's just so tough out there right now that it's hard to keep my optimism up. The guy I'm with is a royal jerk. Absolutely no one likes him and many sutdents have left because of the guys personality. I used to get along with him great, prolly cuz I kissed ass, but then when I started to get taken advantage of I decided to draw the line and not be so "buddy buddy". Many others are doing the same. I literally will meet people out in public who know this guy and they ALL say he is a prick. What is your thought on banner towing? Do you think it is worth while. Time builder yet I hear some places look down on the experience........

jsfBoat

You need your tail wheel and about 20 hours to be proficient enough to tow banners. It's a time builder, as I've been looking into it for summer work, but companies like to see the experience gained from instructing. have you considered moving for work? If you want to stay in aviation, you should probably get used to the idea of having to move around for work, and often. There are "puppy mills" that are hiring, a good search or job site will show these. I'm in the same boat, I'm trying to find full time work. I sent spent wednesday sending out resumes and calling places. I have 3 interviews lined up in the next two weeks, and a few others weeks after. All from spending one day searching, sending resumes out, and calling places.

SinglePilot135

I was in your boat, right after 9/11. I was a fresh CFI with no dual given and no flight schools would hire me.

I was talking to the airport manager in a small town near where I grew up (Portage, WI) and he informed me that a few local people were interested in flying lessons but the airport didn't have an instructor. I ended up leasing an airplane and starting my own flight school with the objective of building time. Through networking and hard work I was able to get up to 1500TT in 2 years and also make a little $$. Instructing ultimately wasn't for me and I moved on, but this is something that few people consider but can be a really good way to get some experience.

I considered buying instead of leasing, but in hindsight I am very happy I didn't! I think I paid about $30/hr for a 172, had to provide my own insurance and fuel, they did the mx. Worth looking into anyhow.

MoonFallsDown

I tried to get a job with few schools in Wisco.and they all wanted 500 hours TT and 200 Dual Given and said its their Insurance Minimums.....

block30

I am surprised that you are looking for CFI jobs if you are or even were a Hawker FO. Just curious