Pinnacle or CFI?
 

hey, i have a guaranteed job offer for as a FO for pinnacle but i also have the option to be a CFI/II for WMU which has the potential of $29 an hour... im currently a junior and am having trouble trying to decide which path to take... any ideas or input??

Ya get your CFI and work for 29$ an hour... I would not want to be on the bottom of anyones list right now... things are so up in the air right now you may not even make it through training.

we are only hiring into a pool and maybe not hiring at all soon so you have no gauranteed job if that happens, get your cfi

Finish school...I assume you can do that while working as a CFI?

Given the current state of the industry there is no guarantee that they won't furlough soon (DAL is trying their damndest to fire PCL, remember?).

Also the fuel situation is an unknown bogeyman...normally the industry rebounds from downturns, but if oil gets worse, the only people who will be airline pilots will be those who are already far up the seniority list of their company. It is not inconcieveable that there will no airline pilots hired for decades. Be prepared for a non-pilot career.

easy...E9!!! Get jet time while you can. who knows when the airlines will hire again. You can always find a CFI job

What exactly are the terms of this guaranteed job offer? Does it include PCL training you at their expense, or are you considering paying huge tuitions to a flight academy? What is your current total and PIC time?

Not! CFI until the industry turns back around, which it will.... some day. Getting furloughed with the rest of us(and those to come) will make finding other work even more difficult!

Jet time is not the end all.... I have about 2 grand total time and 1000 jet.. not really going to help me out all that much when I am furloughed and competing with 5000+ hour guys. The more options you have,ie.. the cfi, the better off. Just my opinion. And I don't have my cfi.. stupid decision on my part.

Personally, I'd rather have a number and airline to go back to, than no number at all. Personally.

Please, please do yourself a favor! Finish school and be a CFI! The CFI pay they are offering you is much better than 1st, no 2nd, no almost 3rd year FO pay at PNCL. You will no regret this decision.

I am more curious about this guaranteed Job... since we are hiring ONLY into a pool....

On the other side of the question- INSTRUCT! I learned the most by avoiding death from unknowing students. The things you learn from instructing (I think its called "flight experience) will be useful to you for THE REST OF YOUR CAREER! A little SIC jet time is only good on a well balanced resume, of course PIC time is always king.

You are being sarcastic, riiiiiiight?

Turbine SIC is not good for much...it's just something to do while you build seniority towards upgrade.

no i am not. just what i would do. there are ton of CFI jobs...if he gets furloughed then he can go teach. if not thats great. Just my opinion...

I must have missed the part where you said you had your COLLEGE DIPLOMA...!
Sorry bro but in today’s world a B.S. means exactly what it say's B*** Sh*T.. However since it means that you need it even more since it has become the new HS Diploma. Finish school and make money instructing,... 100 hours a month instructing at the rate you provided the forum with.... I wasn't making that in college I guarantee that!!! Oh one more thing, yes jet time is cool every one has SJS at some point but when those loans come knocking at your bank account SJS will be no where to be found.:rolleyes:

If you aren't finished with school - finish and get your CFI to build time while you finish. There are lots of guys who are still at regionals who had chances at majors but weren't qualified because they were going to finish thier degree while they were working and never did.

If you are finished with school - don't turn down a job if you have an oppourtunity for one, go to 9E.

Majors may require a 4 year degree in the future. Stay in school.

I'm sure you would also have a great healthcare/retirement package (503b programs at most universities have a very good match) as well as other bennies such as free tuition to get a second BS/Masters.

CFI, make a decent living. Throw some money in the bank for when you're a broke RJ driver. Better yet, get that masters and find something that allows you to live comfortably off that second income you could be making on your days off.

just go ahead and get in the pinnacle pool. if and when we start hiring again then make the decision. till then get the cfi, instruct, fly 135 or whatever. like everyone has said we aren't holding classes right now and have quite a few people in the pool. go ahead and get a spot in line and just carry on with the rest of your school and building time till they make the call. then you can decide.

and yes like others here have said i really learned a lot from instructing and flying checks around. good time building and a great learning experience.

Just some food for thought...
 

There is no such thing as a guaranteed job these days. You have to read between the lines. What I think you mean, is a guaranteed interview,with preferential hiring over some Joe Schmoe off the street. BUT, you need to set yourself apart from the rest! Finish that 4-year degree, and get your CFI, CFII, and MEI! A lot of flight departments are starting to add the CFI, CFII, and MEI to their list of basic requirements. Plus, once the airline industry is back on the up-and-up, they will probably set the minimum flight times at 1500TT like it was way back when...

Just some food for thought. Stay sharp, and be safe. Let us know if you need anymore help. We are all just speaking from our mistakes, and past experiences.

Absolutely finish school, and hope the industry has righted itself by the time you are done and have benefited from the instructing time. You will get the best of both worlds, an degree and flight experience. No need to rush into the industry right now, we seem to be in a bit of downturn if you haven't noticed. :) So take the time to finish school, you wont regret it.

I have to advise you to stay where you are for now. Pinnacle has many obstacles to overcome to secure a future in this industry. As a junior, you shouldn't be entertaining any job offer before you graduate anyhow. Get the degree. Nobody will EVER be able to take that away from you.

That's one thing that really torques me.

"I go to school A and I have a guaranteed job"

Really? There is no such thing. Tell that to your WMU admissions officer.

If you sign on the dotted line cause you have a "guaranteed job" at a regional, you're a fool. The regional biz is so much up in the air that you can't predict who will be hiring and who will be furloughing from one day to the next.

The whole idea that you can train at a certain place and "get a job" at a certain other place smacks of so much BS that I'd highly double check on any school that makes the claim. Especially in today's regional hiring environment. GAWD.....

Western does not guarantee anything of the sort to its students. As a former student who just graduated, I know first hand that there are no guaranteed jobs, believe me, I applied. I also know that WMU is also not hiring CFIs at this current time, but there is a possibility of a few being hired once the fall semester gets underway.

So this student is wrong on both of his claims of being guaranteed a job.

This student is either drinking some strong kool aid, or is grossly misinformed. Just thought I would clear that up.

"This student is either drinking some strong kool aid, or is grossly misinformed"

There ya go. Guess you can never tell....

WEll when it comes to making decent money what a lot of you need to realize is that $29/hour does not always translate into a decent paycheck... At an airline you have a guaranteed number of hours paid... teaching you could get 80 hours one month, and 20-30 the next 8 months (as has been the case with me)... I sit around for 6 of my 8-10 hours I am at work doing nothing because of a drop off in student interest. Don't ever look at the dollars per hour and think that should be a selling point... if there are no students, you will be filing for welfare and food stamps in no time...

I think the old Mr T commercial from the 80's applies here...."Don't do drugs, stay clean, stay in school, get your cfi/ii/mei."

and wear enough gold chains to put the plane over max gross. But who cares?it looks cool

Can anyone tell me about hiring pools? I was in the first interview for the pool, when I was called she said there are only about 8 in the pool. My question is do they go in order of your interview date or do they pick the most qualified of the now 100+ in the pool? Thanks for any info.

Just another thought that I havent seen thrown out yet. Get the CFI, get to work and that can help you network into other flying work. I have gotten invaluable experience from my flight instructing days. I do agree that if the airlines is where your heart lies go ahead get into the pool. Then while you are instructing take any chance you can to get extra flying. In corporate flying the first thing all of the PT91 captains I know do when they need a contract guy and one of their regulars are not availible is look for a CFI. Trust me there are a bunch of heavy iron corporate guys out there who remember where they came from and are more than happy to give you a hand up. Also as on this forum some of the best networking is the other CFI's who you work with.

Good Luck

The majority rule is that they pull you out in the order of which you where interviewed. But, there are a few oddball companies that will do it in whatever order they like...

I was supposed to be in the June 30 class and when i got the call i was told i was #18 in the pool. You sure there are over 100 now??? I know they've interviewed a few times.

I interviewed on June 24. At that time there were 60 people in the pool and I know they have not interviewed anyone since then. So I think I'm number 60 ...way at the bottom. http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/im...ons/icon12.gif

I agree with you fully. I am currently flight instructing and though the work and flight experience I've obtained is immensely useful to me, the paycheck is something I always struggle with. Depending on where you instruct, you are either salaried, or as is the case in most places, paid by the flight hour and any pre/post brief time.

The worst part about instructing where I am is my paycheck is so dependent on weather and students. This summer, I'm mainly working with primary PPL students and usually get weathered all the time. The highest I've ever had in a paycheck was 56 hours in two weeks. That's pretty miserable at the pay rate I earn.

Of course, if you have enough dual given, you can go to the better flight schools. Unfortunately, as is the case for me, it takes money to move, which I don't have so I'm stuck in this hole. ;)

I've had my few hours instructing and could definitely use a more steady job with which I can budget a minimum monthly guarantee. As it is now, I can't budget worth a damn!

When did you interview? I interviewed on June 11th. and was called on Monday the 16th.

Opinions are like...you know the rest.

People have said Kobe should have gone to college before the NBA. I say get what you can while you can. There will be CFI work if you need it later. Why would you build time as a CFI for a jet job when you can have a jet job first. It's been pointed out it would be better to have an airline to go back to if the worst should happen. Guaranteed job? I checked snopes and they said it was a false rumor. Get the degree for sure. I'm not sure your gonna get hired without it.

That's my opionion...refer to line one.

I interviewed in May but it took them a while to get back to me with a yes/no. And when I got the yes and the class date, it was prob a week or so before this all went down. I just hope they pass some info to us soon and not have us waiting til sept 30 now!

I wouldn't worry too much unless someone started talking about trying to mess with our NWA contract. Last I heard we still have some attrition...but the company won't hire to cover any attrition until the ATL thing is 100% resolved.

A lot of interrelated events will develop between now and November (merger vote, hopefully more contract negotiations here, ATL flying decisions, fuel pries, US economy, and Presidential election outcome). Anyone who thinks they can predict ANYTHING for ANY airline, especially this one, in light of all of that stuff happening, doesn't have a clue!!!

Look on the bright side, maybe we'll have a new contract before you guys start training. I'd personally rather wait it out if I were in your boat...the extra motivation of a few extra bucks to look forward to will help you stay sharp and focused during training!!!

Assumptions about CFI Jobs
 

Interview if it's offered. Get in a pool, if you can. Maybe the airline will survive, and you'll get a call in a few years. It may be the only way to get an airline job, at all.

In the meantime, finish school and get a CFI job, now, if you can. I think many here are not seeing the big picture here when they say "you can always get a CFI job". I don't think that's true anymore, or at least it won't be in a more few months. Hundreds of more qualified, experienced, CFIs are in the process of being furloughed from the Regionals (myself included). If they don't throw in the towel and leave flying all together, they very well may competing for those better paying, salaried, CFI jobs with health bennies.

I have several CFI friends who are working at FBOs and smaller schools that are calling me, asking about for other CFI jobs. They have lost most of their students due to fuel prices and the economy. General Aviation in general is the middle of a drastic decline. All of this sh*t rolls down hill. None of the old assumptions are valid right now. Just my $.02

Tell that to about 400 Eagle guys with AA numbers....

hasn't helped them much in the last ten years....

having marketable skills,,,, such as being a CFI/CFII is a fallback for when your enjoying having that wonderful airline number and no pay.

grow up