QOL for TK Instructors
 

Curious what the life is like of a TK Instructor or other positions in the training dept for someone who wants to live in DEN but be home every night. Pay, days worked, overall QOL....

The good: Pay is capped at 9 year WBFO which is great if you’re junior. If you live local it’s a very efficient job meaning not a lot of time away for your paycheck. This is optimal if you have small kids and babies on the way. Or maybe you have a lot of hobbies.

The bad: you don’t fly much and your proficiency suffers. RSV has been relentless as of recent because we have been short on instructors and hiring non stop.

The ugly: spool up is rough the first 3-6 months as it’s a large academic load to take on initially. But after about 2 years in the building it gets very monotonous as you teach the same material and events over and over.

How many days off do instructors normally have? In a similar vein, are all the other flight ops side gigs/management jobs at the TK, or is everything not explicitly training related based in Chicago?

I can only speak of TK; 12-13 days off and 2-3 “fly days” a months. Don’t have to fly on your fly days but by the end of the year you should have 30 fly days in.

I’m going on year 2 at TK now and I really like it still. It’s nice being able to actually build some friendships that last longer than 4 days. I agree that it does start to get monotonous doing a CQMV for the 100th time.

There’s tons of gigs that aren’t in the TK. Special assignment can be in the CPO or downtown chicago or
Even on occasion from home. Flight manager roles are always in the CPO and some downtown, they are scarce openings and def not for everyone.

Can you shine some light on the process to get into TK? I'm assuming off probation but is that pretty much it? The TK work interests me but it also seems like for someone who has other side hobbies/projects outside of work it may be a better lifestyle to bid reserve if you live in base and try and not fly, although it sounds like staffing is closing the door to that tactic. Can you get more than 12-13 off if you wanted? How many hours are you crediting per month and at what pay rate is TK paid?

Only time you get more than 12-13 days off is vacation months. You can’t drop events. You can’t drop reserve days. Trading can only be done between pilots via email. There is no CCS/crew companion functionality that the line pilots have.

If you live within 30-40 minutes of TK, have little kids or maybe some health issues it can be a really good gig. Outside of that it’s likely going to be what you make of it.

You apply online - probably already have most of it done as it was required for new hires to fill out after getting a CJO.

Read section 23 of the contract. TK instructors bid for days off currently using an in house bidding system but are transitioning to PBS shortly. You can’t get extra days off…but working more is always an option. MPG is 90 hours and you earn every penny of it most days. Most instructors feel that PBS is going to be pretty punitive for junior commuters. Locals within 60 minutes of TK are probably living a pretty good life. There is no automated trading system for instructors as trading events right now is at discretion of the company and finding someone else willing to trade. Depending on the commute it is easy to lose several days off per month to accommodate RSV and the UPA commuter policy.

Pay is pretty good for a junior pilot but you have to account for local living expenses which eats into the higher MPG pretty quickly. The first year and any time you are training for an additional qualification is a grind. Most find themselves putting in 2-3x the amount of work relative to the students. You have to learn the briefings…you have to learn the scripts…you have to learn multiple different operating systems for the sims. After that you start learning where all the common mistakes are and what different backgrounds present different challenges. Aka- CRJ and Mil pilots typically struggle with automation. Bus pilots have to learn how to fly again etc.

TK is probably the closest a United pilot may get to being part of a military ready room. You will make friends and see different personalities and teaching styles. You will also run into instructors that have been in TK too long and are phoning in the job.

I’d only take the job right now if you have a passion for teaching or have small kids in the house AND live local. NB CA pay and finding a cheaper place outside some of our other bases is likely going to net the same income and be an easier job. This is why resignations were so high last year and unless they pay folks what they can hold it will be difficult to retain instructors much longer as TUMI 2 or 3 gets negotiated.

Great information, thanks. Living in DEN only 15 min from TK right now which is why it's so intriguing to me. I admittedly do have a lot of hobbies and side gigs outside of work so looking to optimize QOL for sure....I do have the passion for teaching but we'll have to see. Thanks for the info