Where are you doing your CFI training at? Have you thought about enrolling in a CFI program like American Flyers? Reason that I ask is because I started working on CFI stuff at a small FBO and was struggling like heck to be good at it. The training was terrible and the instructor to whom I was assigned was outright incompetent. I didn't think that I would ever become a CFI and definitely gave up for a while. After I was done moaning about my plight I decided to go to Flyers in Pompano Beach, FL, because of the good things that I heard about their program there. The ground instructor, Patrick Connell, that they have there is an outstanding teacher and all the practice that you will have in speaking in front of your classmates may help you get over your fear of teaching...at least it worked for me.

No, no jab at you...only the ones that somehow were lucky enough to get hired at the airlines I worked at because they new the owner or slept with a management type...The stories I could tell!

I bet...ha!

El, Pilot it is my opinion that every aspiring professional pilot in your position in this day and age is given the same rules to the game to play. Complaining about how its not fair doesn't help you one bit. You've been doing this for only 3 years. There are tons of pilots on this board who wish after three years of flying they were fortunate enough to be even working on their CFI. I didn't get my first full time flying gig until 7 years of flying.

Patience friend. If you can't handle CFI training, tell me how that that 135 freight gig is going to be any easier? The solutions to situations you'll face there are ones that are not found in any book and often you'll find yourself between a rock and a hard place.

Small FBO. I'm practicing on my own at home first then when confident enough I'll go with a CFI. I don't like the 141 classroom style.

You may not like the 141 classroom style, but many times you need to get out of your comfort zone to advance, especially if what you're currently doing isn't working for you.

Additionally, the fact that you think 135 cargo is for entry level pilots and that 1200 hours magically makes you qualified to do so shows me just how much you have to learn yet.

Tough Love
 

El pilot,

Aviation is an extrovert's game and take that from an introvert. You MUST get out and interact with others skillfully and with confidence. In your career, you will have to lead others, the prequisite for which is listening and following well. You will have to speak to customers and the public; attend mass briefings and classes and participate in them; and finally, as a captain, you will instruct, critique and mentor younger pilots. Finally, you will have crew dinners, cocktails and social events. I have, in 40 years, learned more about flying in those settings than sitting at computer screen. As a teenager, I worked as a line boy at the local airport, listening to and asking airline pilots taught me lessons about flying I use today. Networking is ALL about presenting yourself well AND offering something of value. Being a CFI is the start.

The advice to attend a quality CFI school is one you should take to heart.

Thanks, I see your point. Which is why I am think I am better off doing programming and web development. The fact I can make a decent living working for a FedEx Feeder motivates me though. Maybe even keep flying a second job.

El pilot,

Don't give up, you can easily overcome your shyness, introversion or whatever you wish to call it. It takes some effort, commitment and desire. Try a Toastmasters club, they're great at this; consider the FAR 141 school or anything to get out of your comfort zone. AF pilot training is about nothing if not getting outside of your somfort, being scared or challenged and overcoming it.

GF

If Flyers or any other CFI program isn't an option for him, then may I suggest that he actually get out and immerse himself in a teaching environment to break his shyness? There are many volunteer teaching programs within communities that are constantly seeking out volunteers to teach basic English, math and so forth. One of my personal projects to see whether I had any capacity for teaching was to sign up for a GED prep course for older students. It was one of the best things that I could have done, gave me a boatload of motivation to tackle CFI coursework at a time that I had zero, and may serve him well in convincing his examiner or potential first employer to favor/hire him if he has some previous teaching experience.

Another thing that he could do is to sit in during his mother's classes if she doesn't have any constraints in permitting that. Observe how she teaches, what techniques she employs and how her body-language and demeanor strongly affect student reactions.

I agree that giving up is not the answer. Anyone can teach if they want to do so strongly enough, but first they must believe that they can do so, and that's where it all starts even from the first time that someone climbs into an airplane to learn to fly.