That's pretty sweet!! Congrats!!

Sure is a cycle. Looks like ATA is closing their doors. I wonder how long will this continue? CFI'ing might not be such a bad gig after all.



atp

Most CFI jobs do not pay well, are dangerous and do not build experience that offers many options.

SKyHigh

I agree with SkyHigh. CFI jobs may be the most economical options out there, at the moment, but they have the potential to become very dangerous to your license/life very quickly.

I understand the scernario that an inexperienced pilot may panic in an emergency situation or do something to close to the ground where recovery is virtually impossible....but for crying out loud, companies are dropping like flies flying through a mist of RAID BUG SPRAY!!!

I think that it gets back to the economy and fiscal policy. The big losers...dot com's; then there was technology stocks; now housing; and apparently the aviation industry. I don't think this meltdown is over. I think the industry will be pruned down to the bare minimum. Afterwards, growth will ensue again.

Just my .02.



atp

If you work for a puppy-mill, they may pay a low hourly rate, but many schools have had to raise pay to retain CFI's. And if you go freelance, you can actually make a living. Some of my last students never went to the regionals...they found that they can make regional CA pay and be home every night freelancing at the FBO (obviously career limiting).

I disagree about it being dangerous. Your first 200 hours as a CFI you need to pay careful attention to avoid hazarding yourself or getting violated, but after that ASEL stuff is pretty tame. CYA everything with lots of documentation and get CFI insurance.

MEI work I do consider to be significantly hazardous...I wouldn't do that for any longer than necessary to build the time you need. If you can avoid doing initial ME/MEI training it's fine...IR or time-building work as an MEI is no different than ASEL.

Trillion Dollar Meltdown

Definitely do not remain a CFI if you can make it to an airline. CFI jobs are only paying well right now because of the severe lack of qualified applicants. As soon as the majors stopped hiring, the regional airline hiring will slow to a crawl and thousands of pilots will be applying for CFI jobs again...just like after 9/11. Then the flight school owners will lower the pay down to $10/hr again and you will be working that same CFI job for less than $15,000/year. Get the turbine experience while you still can.

A greater lie was never told...

gotta be honest here... if it weren't for SKYHIGH, everything would be sugar coated in these forums... we're all full of encouragement to one another, and all full of pats on the backs, hardly ever do i hear the "hard to swallow" unless SKYHIGH jumps in...

I'm not even over 100 dual given yet, and i'm already lookin for a back up plan... It never hurts to cover all your bases...

and we've all heard before "don't put all your eggs in one basket", but sometimes it takes some guts to step out on a limb and take a risk,

Don't tell me "what if" never pops into your minds!!!