Good preparation for INDOC as you will not be afforded the opportunity to digest the material in class. Except the stakes are much higher.

 

I am currently in Florida looking to do the same thing. Currently jobless after some bad luck outside of my control but want to spice up the resume to get it. I already have the written test completed as well as the ground course. Appreciate any help.

 

one in Florida I did in June cost 3,400, Sim at midnight for a couple of days is the drawback . Look up ATP academy in FLL

 

If you pay for it on your own, you pay the entire cost out of pocket.

If your airline pays for it and sends you a 1099-NEC, then you're just paying taxes on the cost of the course which would obviously be much less than the out of pocket cost.

Am I figuring this right? I'm trying to decide if I should stomach the cost and pay for the course myself.

 

Correct. Currently, the federal tax bracket for the average new FO is gonna be around 22% (based on a quick google search) so that’s about $1,000 owed in taxes (based on a cost of $4,500 for the course); not including any applicable state taxes. Now, taxes are much more nuanced and never so clear cut, but you get the point I hope.

Deciding to pay for it on your own or not is more about what gets you hired and potentially, how quick. If not getting it done on your own means being sent to the back of the line, then it could be worth it. However, if you have a job offer already then clearly don’t go out and spend the money.

 

At the 135s and 121s I’ve been at the folks who didn’t have their ATP yet just got it as part of their sim training, paid for by company 🤷‍♂️

​​​​​​ If you have the aeronautical experience for the ATP already, I would think/hope getting something more useful like advanced aerobatic training, or a glider add on would be more impressive than watching some YouTube crash videos and playing around in a sim and doing a ride in a GA twin. At least that’s what others have described it as.

 

The question is about the (sorta) new requirement just to get the ATP Knowledge Test completed, not the actual ATP Checkride done. The past 2 years has seemed to show that getting this required course (and subsequent ATP Written) completed is helping with getting hired at a regional airline when compared to those who do not have it yet completed requiring the airline to pay for it (along with travel, lodging, and other expenses).

 

Makes sense. Thank you.

 

Seems to be a bunch of wasteful nonsense to make people pay for that expensive course just to be eligible to take the written.

 

Some 135s REQUIRE the ATP/CTuP to be complete (Flex, NJ, FlyExclusive, WUP) prior to training. Most regionals do not. Id say, in this market place, dont look at being short sighted, its a simple investment. Sure regionals will pay for it, but if you have it done already, it will save you AT LEAST 1 month of getting into training at the regional, it will also open doors to the larger 135s that pay significantley more than being a CFI. Getting into a job paying $100,000/yr a month early pays for itself. Not to mention the other benefits, getting an earlier seniority number or making your resume stand out more than the 1,000s of other applicants without it. Id also recommend 135 operators since SKW and REP have long and expensive training contracts that when the majors start hiring again (usually behind the curve), you are not stuck in a training contract.