I understand the desire to contemplate the future and plan your career moves, but as I read your post I cant help but feel that you have been given bad guidance. Yes, a few years rolled by that permitted 1500 hour CFIs to jump into RJs, but we don't live in the same world that existed 9 months ago. Please listen to the older folks here, even if we seem to want to eviscerate your dreams and ambitions.

You can do yourself a huge favor, one that will place you ahead of your peers toiling away at flight schools, by climbing whatever career ladder gets you towards 1000 ME TPIC. Will you need that to get on with a regional or major? Probably not, but the journey to that hours achievement will help you tick the career boxes necessary to stand out amongst the next generation of new hires.

How long should you stay as a CFI? 500 PIC, 1500 TT, 50 ME PIC? That is probably the ceiling. Move on as soon as possible, even before those three numbers if the opportunitypresents itself. Find a Caravan, or BE 99, or King Air, or 402 flying Tourists out to ths Cape. Go have an adventure in Alaska, or Guam, or PR. How long should you stay at job Numbers 2, 3, 4 etc, well have a target and be realistic about advancement opportunities. More pay, more engines, better working conditions, heavier aircraft, more complex operations are all reasons to move on. Actual upgrades, training, and career advancement are a reason to stay, promises are not. Until you are flying a ME Turbine aircraft, with realistic opportunities to log PIC hours in near term, you need to be looking elsewhere. Along the way you may decide corporate, fractional, cargo, or fire fighting is where you want to stay; or theyll ve the sources for great stories at your United interview.

Don't worry about employee loyalty, that flows in one direction in the corporate world. Do your job well, do it safe, be disciplined at work. Every chief pilot knows that most of their crew members are there for a short time until some Fortune 500 corporate jet job comes knocking, or DL, UA, AA, 5Y...

Back in 2011, I applied to 26 or 30 different companies just to get 3 job offers. If your apps aren't out now, get them out. Be on jsfirm, airline apps, ever FB hiring page. Email every 135 company on APC. Be the first of the current cadre to move on from your CFI job and you may well find yourself higher on the 121 seniority lists then your buddies.

Waiting for 1500 hours in your CFI job probably is not the wrong answer, but it definitely isn't the correct one.

 

Your post would be spot on accurate...if this was late 2023. It is, however, early 2025 and things have changed dramatically.

Still LOLing at your post on the Spirit forum asking if hiring will resume soon.

 

daaaaayaaaaaaaaamn!

 

Overall, hiring at legacies will be less this year than next. Regionals across the board seem to be staffed. If 67 happens, hit pause for another two years.

 

and add 2 more years for yourself at the top of the food chain too. Age 67 puts money in everybody's pocket.
careercstagnation? No, this isn't October 2001. Guys are upgrading while in new hire and/or still on probation.
Thats not a career stagnation pause.

 

Which airlines are upgrading on probation still?

 

1,000 pilots a year?

The Big 3 are going to have about 2000 retirements each year for the next decade. Right now it's closer to 2500. Addin the next tier of major jobs and it's a couple hundred more.

No one has 'dibs' on a job. Are their resumes better by having Part 121 experience at NK, FX and to a smaller degree Air Wisconsin. But there are no 'dibs'.

Airline growth mirrors at, or slightly less then, GDP. That's another 900 +\- at the Big 3. Add in the next tier of 'destination' jobs and the annual demand and that's another 300+ pilots per year.

Seems like the long term demand looks more like 3,500 +/- pilots. Boeing's estimate is 6,000 a year for N. America.

 

"Until you are flying a ME Turbine aircraft, with realistic opportunities to log PIC hours in near term, you need to be looking elsewhere."

Perfect.

I'd add "at a job that's flying a fair amount." Only getting 200 hrs a year, in anything, isn't enough.

 

this is how I know you're still a CFI...

when I say first dibs, that means furloughed ALPA pilots have preferential interviews. So yeah, they have first dibs.

 

Haha. I haven't used my CFI since 1978.