Flight Instructor Pay Survey

Man, I am shocked by all of this. I thought I had it pretty good. Apparently, I'm getting raped in comparison. Anyone else been required to get a business license as well?
 
I doubt anyone responding with SoCal payrates has been to Gainesville, FL.

First issue is it's Central Florida. It's a hole. COLA in Central FL vs. SoCal? HAHAHA.
Second issue is, pay for a CFI is secondary in nature. 90% of CFI's (rough guess) are in it for the hours, and multi time in particular.

If your school has an issue with CFI's working under 50 hours a month you need to do all you can to get the billable hours up. If your school has no multi, or a multi that rarely operates, that is also another issue.

In FL pay for CFI's and pilots in general is dismal at best. But the schools that fly a lot and have a twin that flies a lot could pay peanuts and still have a ton of applicants. Back in '04 I was working at a school that paid $12/hr which is a paycut from the $20/hr I was getting before but I gladly did it, tons of flying and lots of new students. Until the hurricane hit.
 
wheelsup said:
I doubt anyone responding with SoCal payrates has been to Gainesville, FL.

First issue is it's Central Florida. It's a hole. COLA in Central FL vs. SoCal? HAHAHA.
Second issue is, pay for a CFI is secondary in nature. 90% of CFI's (rough guess) are in it for the hours, and multi time in particular.


If your school has an issue with CFI's working under 50 hours a month you need to do all you can to get the billable hours up. If your school has no multi, or a multi that rarely operates, that is also another issue.

In FL pay for CFI's and pilots in general is dismal at best. But the schools that fly a lot and have a twin that flies a lot could pay peanuts and still have a ton of applicants. Back in '04 I was working at a school that paid $12/hr which is a paycut from the $20/hr I was getting before but I gladly did it, tons of flying and lots of new students. Until the hurricane hit.
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I think that's just the sort of attitude that keeps instructor wages low. I've never in my life seen a profession where people are constantly taking a punch to the wallet just "for the love of the job". It's honestly kind of insane. I'm not trying to derail the thread much here, but all these young kids working for slave wages or chasing some multi time for peanut wages are what brings us all down. Maybe it's just cause I was older than the a stage CFI starting out in this profession or maybe I just have more self-worth. But I refuse to work for peanuts. I already think $20-$30 an hour is too low for the amount of responsibility and liability our job incurs daily. Not to mention the inherrent danger in teaching someone to operate heavy machinery. Wages in FL are dismall in my opinion. And it's because we let them be. If you want good instructors who aren't going to bounce for that $25k first jet job... Then pay them better. Pay them what they are worth. Maybe if we could increase wages at the bottom, wages would increase all the way on up.
 
chrisreedrules said:
I think that's just the sort of attitude that keeps instructor wages low. I've never in my life seen a profession where people are constantly taking a punch to the wallet just "for the love of the job". It's honestly kind of insane. I'm not trying to derail the thread much here, but all these young kids working for slave wages or chasing some multi time for peanut wages are what brings us all down. Maybe it's just cause I was older than the a stage CFI starting out in this profession or maybe I just have more self-worth. But I refuse to work for peanuts. I already think $20-$30 an hour is too low for the amount of responsibility and liability our job incurs daily. Not to mention the inherrent danger in teaching someone to operate heavy machinery. Wages in FL are dismall in my opinion. And it's because we let them be. If you want good instructors who aren't going to bounce for that $25k first jet job... Then pay them better. Pay them what they are worth. Maybe if we could increase wages at the bottom, wages would increase all the way on up.
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Well when the typical CFI gig will pay 100k, include BC/BS health insurance for $100/month, operate aircraft that have a/c above the bumps, and get full pay no matter the weather you might stop the flow to the commuters. If people look at first year pay at the commuter as a reason to stay (and that is the sole reason) they are, financially speaking, idiots. IMO.

You seem to think highly of yourself. Good for you!

.
 
When I instructed I charged 55 for basic, instrument and commercial instruction, 65 for aerobatic, EMT and formation.
 
wheelsup said:
I doubt anyone responding with SoCal payrates has been to Gainesville, FL.

First issue is it's Central Florida. It's a hole. COLA in Central FL vs. SoCal? HAHAHA.
Second issue is, pay for a CFI is secondary in nature. 90% of CFI's (rough guess) are in it for the hours, and multi time in particular.

If your school has an issue with CFI's working under 50 hours a month you need to do all you can to get the billable hours up. If your school has no multi, or a multi that rarely operates, that is also another issue.

In FL pay for CFI's and pilots in general is dismal at best. But the schools that fly a lot and have a twin that flies a lot could pay peanuts and still have a ton of applicants. Back in '04 I was working at a school that paid $12/hr which is a paycut from the $20/hr I was getting before but I gladly did it, tons of flying and lots of new students. Until the hurricane hit.
Click to expand...

I made the move as a CFI from SoCal to Central FL about a year and a half ago, and my experience with the pay scale was quite different than yours. I was making $17/hr to fly in San Diego which is survivable if you work like an indentured servant living check to check. Then things slowed down and our pay was chopped 15%. So I started looking around and saw where most schools were hiring in droves, particularly in AZ, TX, and FL. Anyway I got a substantial raise and my MEI payed for (on contract) to come to work in Florida, which as mentioned has a lower cost of living. My disposable income nearly doubled and now I actually have a savings account and no credit card debt. Now I know Florida isn't as nice as SoCal but it's not that bad and who cares anyway, like you said the majority of CFIs are looking to get hours and move on. If you're going to be a workaholic you might as well do it in an area where the rent is cheaper.

I do wholeheartedly agree that most instructors are looking at average hours flown each month, building multi hours, and the opportunity to log xc time towards the ATP minimums when it comes to applying to different flight schools. That really is the bottom line.
 
at1024 said:
I made the move as a CFI from SoCal to Central FL about a year and a half ago, and my experience with the pay scale was quite different than yours. I was making $17/hr to fly in San Diego which is survivable if you work like an indentured servant living check to check. Then things slowed down and our pay was chopped 15%. So I started looking around and saw where most schools were hiring in droves, particularly in AZ, TX, and FL. Anyway I got a substantial raise and my MEI payed for (on contract) to come to work in Florida, which as mentioned has a lower cost of living. My disposable income nearly doubled and now I actually have a savings account and no credit card debt. Now I know Florida isn't as nice as SoCal but it's not that bad and who cares anyway, like you said the majority of CFIs are looking to get hours and move on. If you're going to be a workaholic you might as well do it in an area where the rent is cheaper.

I do wholeheartedly agree that most instructors are looking at average hours flown each month, building multi hours, and the opportunity to log xc time towards the ATP minimums when it comes to applying to different flight schools. That really is the bottom line.
Click to expand...
That's cool glad things are different than they were 9 years ago. To me hourly pay is meaningless without a frame of reference. You could charge $100/hr as a CFI but if you fly 4 hours a month you aren't really doing yourself any favors except beating your chest on an internet forum. Those who charge students directly are contract employees with the inherent risks and additional taxes that go along with that. I made the most money @ $16/hr (NM) than I did at $20 (NJ) and $12 (FL) by far, at least double. The important thing is in one year I flew ~960 hours including 250 in a Baron, with a HUGE chuck of it xcty time. Out of 8 instructors there 2 were "career" guys who had done it for a couple years.
 
wheelsup said:
That's cool glad things are different than they were 9 years ago. To me hourly pay is meaningless without a frame of reference. You could charge $100/hr as a CFI but if you fly 4 hours a month you aren't really doing yourself any favors except beating your chest on an internet forum. Those who charge students directly are contract employees with the inherent risks and additional taxes that go along with that. I made the most money @ $16/hr (NM) than I did at $20 (NJ) and $12 (FL) by far, at least double. The important thing is in one year I flew ~960 hours including 250 in a Baron, with a HUGE chuck of it xcty time. Out of 8 instructors there 2 were "career" guys who had done it for a couple years.
Click to expand...


I think people make contract instructing out to be a lot harder than it really is. Most people would be amazed at how much money you can make at a small town airport bombing around in a 172, on top of that your student might very well be looking for a pilot one day, and thats something that really doesn't happen at pilot mills. Theres also the obvious benefit of almost everything being cash.
 
chrisreedrules said:
I think that's just the sort of attitude that keeps instructor wages low. I've never in my life seen a profession where people are constantly taking a punch to the wallet just "for the love of the job". It's honestly kind of insane. I'm not trying to derail the thread much here, but all these young kids working for slave wages or chasing some multi time for peanut wages are what brings us all down. Maybe it's just cause I was older than the a stage CFI starting out in this profession or maybe I just have more self-worth. But I refuse to work for peanuts. I already think $20-$30 an hour is too low for the amount of responsibility and liability our job incurs daily. Not to mention the inherrent danger in teaching someone to operate heavy machinery. Wages in FL are dismall in my opinion. And it's because we let them be. If you want good instructors who aren't going to bounce for that $25k first jet job... Then pay them better. Pay them what they are worth. Maybe if we could increase wages at the bottom, wages would increase all the way on up.
Click to expand...


Checkmate.

http://www.abajournal.com/news/arti...ts_for_attorney_job_paying_10000_a_year_part/
 
wheelsup said:
That's cool glad things are different than they were 9 years ago. To me hourly pay is meaningless without a frame of reference. You could charge $100/hr as a CFI but if you fly 4 hours a month you aren't really doing yourself any favors except beating your chest on an internet forum. Those who charge students directly are contract employees with the inherent risks and additional taxes that go along with that. I made the most money @ $16/hr (NM) than I did at $20 (NJ) and $12 (FL) by far, at least double. The important thing is in one year I flew ~960 hours including 250 in a Baron, with a HUGE chuck of it xcty time. Out of 8 instructors there 2 were "career" guys who had done it for a couple years.
Click to expand...


This is very true. I forgot to mention that both schools in my scenario were mostly international (Chinese) contract students. Billable hours are slightly more in FL due to the volume of students and my current position in the company. The only slow times are when a tropical storm or hurricane hits.
 
cmill said:
I think people make contract instructing out to be a lot harder than it really is. Most people would be amazed at how much money you can make at a small town airport bombing around in a 172, on top of that your student might very well be looking for a pilot one day, and thats something that really doesn't happen at pilot mills. Theres also the obvious benefit of almost everything being cash.
Click to expand...
Well I assumed people would be disclosing their income to the IRS and paying the appropriate taxes. I had a partnership that I ran concurrently while instructing and even though I was paid in cash I disclosed it via a K1. Good for you for sticking it to 'the man'.
 
wheelsup said:
Well I assumed people would be disclosing their income to the IRS and paying the appropriate taxes. I had a partnership that I ran concurrently while instructing and even though I was paid in cash I disclosed it via a K1. Good for you for sticking it to 'the man'.
Click to expand...


I'm glad thats what you took away from that. :sarcasm:

Not trying to stick it to the man, I just prefer to keep my money in my pocket if I'm given the choice. I'm sure that bartenders/waiters/waitresses all report every dime they've ever made. If you're in a predominately cash business and reporting all of it, then you're either noble or stupid, depending on how you look at it.
 
cmill said:
I'm glad thats what you took away from that. :sarcasm:

Not trying to stick it to the man, I just prefer to keep my money in my pocket if I'm given the choice. I'm sure that bartenders/waiters/waitresses all report every dime they've ever made. If you're in a predominately cash business and reporting all of it, then you're either noble or stupid, depending on how you look at it.
Click to expand...

Cool idea until you want to start collecting social security. Good luck with that one.
 
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