"In reference to an airline career if you can skip the CFI route and then don't then it is a needless diversion and as such a "waste of time"."

Furthermore, I strongly disagree with this statement. I currently have just over 500 TT, 75 Multi, and a highly desirable (To regionals) Jet course under my belt. I can easily leave now and go to a regional. A lot of my colleagues have left for regionals with 100 hours less than I have. However, I CHOSE to become a CFI and instruct for a year before doing this. The reason... I want to build experience. If you deny the fact that a pilot becomes infinitely more skilled by teaching, then you are sadly misguided. I feel that I have a talent for teaching, I enjoy it, and I feel that I am gaining as much as my students are from the experience. I want to begin my airline career alright, but I also don't want to be a burden on my captains, and a safety hazard for my passengers. And extra year of experience teaching someone to fly can only help.

 

"I CHOSE to become a CFI and instruct for a year before doing this. The reason... I want to build experience."

A year? Dude, if you are at ATP, then I commend you. If they all did that, then I'd have nothing bad to say about the place.

 

Actually I am considering teaching again. I am still a current CFII-MEI. Just last weekend I had a long conversation with a guy from a large and fancy flight school about my coming to work for them as a part time CFI.

However if I had my choice I would much rather be doing something else in aviation but instructing seems like the only thing right now that would let me design my own schedule.

Skyhigh

 

The only one who is loosing out is yourself. No one really knows if this regional hiring thing will continue. Oil could hit $100 a barrel and then you would be left out in the cold while your friends have cushy regional jobs. They would have careers and would be building turbine time. You could be stuck as a CFI and virtually worthless to the industry.

It wasn't very long ago when the regionals wanted 1500 minimum and were hiring at 3000. Things can change on a dime. It is foolish to wait. Perhaps you are nurchuring a confidence problem? Often instructors like to hide in the safety of the flight school rather than to take the abuse of being the new guy at the next rung in the ladder.

Perhaps your friends can help you get a job in the future but you are doing yourself no favors today.

Skyhigh

 

It wasn't Skyhigh that said this to me. I have never talked to Skyhigh, but I do read his posts. It was my old instructor from LZU. He instructed for 14 months, and when he finally got hired on to express, he told me that he could have instructed for 1 month and still have the same knowledge because once you get into 121, everything is different. Flying at FL340, more congested radios, tighter schedules, complex airplanes and regs.. blah blah blah.. That is why I brought it up. Like I said, I am not commercial yet, so I was merely trying to get input from you guys.

 

Sadly, your instructor was a useless pile of meat in the cockpit if he did not gain anything more after 1 month of instructing - I find that hard to believe. Odds are it was just a cocky statement to make himself feel like a bada$$.

As had been said before, 121 is just a set of regs, not too much different from part 91, that anybody can read from a book. As for flying in the flight levels, its just like flying at 5000 feet, only there are no VFR guys up there and the radios are less congested. Oh yea, when you check in, you get to sound cool by saying "flight level......" WOW!

 

Not ATP, WMU.

If oil hits $100 a barrel, many of my friends will be right back next to me instructing again.

Its the other way around in fact. I think those with SJS have more of a confidence problem. Again, I enjoy instructing because I feel I am a good teacher, and I feel that I am learning a lot. I never said or acted like I know everything, even in front of my students. In fact, not being able to answer some of the students questions makes me better because I go and research it myself. I'm in no way afraid of going to a regional, in fact our Jet course is far more rigorous than any regional's indoc training, and I passed it with flying colors.

I'd like to have a diverse aviation background to give a variety of experience that I can call upon if something does go wrong. Plus, I don't want to be that guy who's career can be summed up by: "I got my ratings and went to Horizon, and that's my career." I have the experience of flying skydivers in a 1956 182, in which the carb heat knob fell out in my hand once. I have the experience of instructing in state of the art glass cockpit trainers. I have the experience of being a copilot on some 135 charter flights in big twins. And I have the experience of taking the jet course. Who would you want in your right seat, me or that other guy? More importantly, who would I want in MY right seat when that time comes, and the sh$t hits the fan?

 

"Just last weekend I had a long conversation with a guy from a large and fancy flight school about my coming to work for them as a part time CFI."

Don't let the college recruiter know about your second life as an internet "aviation career" basher. I once went to one of their talks at a high school and they had, even me, thinking they were trying way to hard to sell the career to the kids. Stuff about the pilot shortage, everyone retiring, special hiring with the local regional, blah, blah. This was about four years ago.

 

For us bus drivers, it's the location of the best restaurant in each terminal. For you, I guess it would be which break room has the best cookies.

 

I Predicted it about a week back - SkyHigh would fly for Ca$h again!!!

Good luck in all you do Sky...

Just having fun