is the CFI certificate necessary
 

first off, time building is not an issue. I get easily about 400 hours of single engine PIC time a year for free. I am just wondering if i should spend my next amount of money on the multi to start chipping away at the multi time or should i do the CFI route because that is an unwritten rule about getting hired at the regional. also, if i need the CFI, do they want to see instruction time and how much? thanks for any insight.

It's not the rating the regionals care about..it's the instruction time. 200 hours dual given is 100x more valuable than 400 hours single engine xc with a friend. Get your CFI and teach, you'll learn more teaching than you ever did as a student / time building.

You have not lived until a student tries to kill you many times a day.

If I had a dollar every time I had to tell a student not to pull all the flaps out at once on a go-around...

Exactly.

No one in the industry cares about seeing a CFI on the resume. What they care about is seeing the CFI AND dual given. It is what you did with that CFI that makes the difference.

With that being said if you have no intention of ever using the CFI for even a single hour of dual given then I suppose there is no point. If you could however get the CFI rating and take some of those 400 SE hours you get per year to use then you could be in business. Do some BFRs, IPCs, FAM flights etc.

I will also add that it is an honor and a privilege to have the CFI rating on your cert. You now have the power to fulfill dreams of flight. Yes, we all know aviation is not much of a "dream" but for the 16 year old kid on his first solo or the 60 year old man who finally realized his lifelong goal that has been put off for years it is truly an honor. It enables you to improve yourself every flight as well as strive to make every student of yours better than you.

Any person sitting on the hiring board that was a CFI will know this is true.

The CFI/dual given is not mandatory. But when you break it down, the big differentiators are probably (in no particular order):

-Total time
-Turbine PIC
-121 time
-135 time
-CFI time
-College degree
-Internal recommendations

Assuming you don't offend the people doing the interview and you can answer the basic technical questions, that's what you're going to get judged on. As hiring spools up the people with the most of those things will likely get hired first.

very wise words...also consider an mei after cfi...good luck.

thanks that was very helpful. looks like I'll get the CFI and do some instructing. i expect i can get at least 100 hours of instruction in the next couple of years. As a side note, I have a Masters degree and was a former WSO (navigator) in B-1Bs with over 2,000 hours. will that hold any weight?

There is no 'CFI rule' @ any airline (or anywhere else, really). If you can build time w/o getting a CFI and your only motivation to get a CFI is to satisfy a perceived rule, then don't get one.

There is most certainly a 'multi' rule @ airlines (and most other professional flying jobs), though. Professionals fly multi engine aircraft, generally, so employers hire those who have that experience. Each hour of multi is much more valuable than an hour of SEL. How much more valuable depends on the person, the day, the mood of the person interviewing you, etc - there is no 'rule', other than the more of of what they do that you've already done, the better (at the entry level professional jobs).

The bigger question is the marketplace. If you don't have your multi now, you need to think about what you want out of flying. Virtually nobody is hiring right now due to the economy and age 65 legislation. Hiring for pilots such as yourself will likely start up again in 1-2 years. @ that point, there will be a good amount of pilots who've been struggling as CFI's for the past 2-3 years. You need to have a better resume then them, b/c you likely won't have as many hours as them. There may be new FAA requirements to have more total time to fly the right seat of an airliner too - likely 750 TT if the FAA's view prevails, or 1500 TT and an ATP if Congress and the pilot unions prevail.

No matter what you do, it's a gamble. Each hour of experience you get is valuable, and CFI'ing can make you a better pilot, as can doing other things.

Your WSO time and masters will be the HUGE difference b/t you and the rest of the guys you're competing against. You have flying, leadership, and decision-making experience that is unparalleled in your marketplace (entry level, regional FO). Don't be afraid to talk about being a WSO @ every interview you go to.

Personally, if you don't have time building issues, I don't think you need to get your CFI, but if you WANT to, have at it. Your WSO and Military officer experience is, to me, more valuable than CFI experience for showing you have leadership and decision making skills. The flying skills though, the CFI could help you there if you don't have them already.

There are no 'rules'. Good luck in your quest, and always put safety first.

thanks guys.

Having the CFI certificate and using it will help you but not using it will be useless....just my two cents.