how long is the line....
 

i understand that we are headed back to the days that 1,000tt (even 2 or 3) are going to be hiring minimums again. as a flight instructor for almost a year and half now looking to move forward, with no luck obviously, how long do i have to wait in line for a job. realistically, are we talking like 1 year or like 5. i know there are way to many pilots on the street that have more experience than me. what can a CFI like myself expect?

First thing is first: the airlines need to start hiring. Once this happens, I would say hiring mins will start high (2000-3000tt + turbine time). I would say that after a 2-3 years, after demand increases, you will see people being hired at airlines with a commercial cert and a dream to fly jets.

You can find any entry level non CFI jobs like cargo. But for the airlines, there has to be jobs first. Think of all the airlines that are not hiring, which are pretty much all of them. Now think of how many of those airlines have people on furlough. It's just going to be tough because personally I don't think we have seen the bottom yet at the airlines, if things stabilize by this year then maybe it will take about a year or two to see steady hirings. If things go further down this year with bankruptcies and consolidations then I would say 2 two or more year before hiring.

The key for you now is to build three things... and 4 if possible: Total time, multi-engine time, and PIC time being the most important. Secondly... try to acquire turbine time of some sort.


I would say that 1500 total and 300 ME will be the minimum for a phone call when things start moving again... and one last thing: Network!! Qualifications, personality, and who you know are the 3 key things with getting anywhere in this industry.

Best of luck- the best time to get hired is at the beginning of a cycle.

Right, and the Colgan thing wont change anything.

thats what they keep telling me. i have students 7 days a week (even all day today while everyone else is having fun drinking adult beverages) and try to put my time in. i know that every hour built counts. my mentality is struggle now so i dont have to later.

That's a funny statement right there! ! !

That's probably the only good thing about those that missed the bus. After 911, those that "struggled" were picked up in the regional hiring waves and made the majors only after a couple of years. But now they're furoughed.:eek::eek::eek:

hahaha that is halarious

If you've been around these boards, as you obviously have.... what mental defect are you suffering from that you haven't learned a single thing that anybody has been trying to tell you. Every once in a while a new posting shows up saying what should I do, or expect....
well, here it is...
Go get a law degree, make tons of money, and buy yourself a nice TBM700 to get your rocks off.