Advice please...

B767

B767

Well-Known Member
Looking for some advice here from the pros who've "been there done that."

Should I quit my $1,200 a month full time job (which I hate), to change flight schools and finish my CFI rating(s)?

Background. Earned my CSEL/CMEL in July last year. It took 9 months to get from the start of training. The instructor I had was not very motivated to teach me. He works 4 days a week (Fri, Sat, Mon, Tues.) and I'm one of 5 students for him (3 of whom are local business owners). I work full time Fri-Tues (5am-1pm) so I can only meet with my instructor after 1pm (we share the same weekend) and for those familiar with the weather in CO, afternoons aren't the greatest. He definitely places higher priority on his other students, as they "tip" him $200 when they pass a check-ride, so I only see him twice a week if lucky. So getting more on point here, I started my CFI in mid Jan. I am being offered part time work at the flight school when I pass the ride. Its now mid April and I still have 8-9 more lessons to go, so a month minimum.

I pretty much have a place to stay for a while without paying rent, or so I've been told. And I don't have very many bills besides CC payments. Car is paid off. Insurance is $155/month. I only have $1600 in my savings right now....

All advice/wisdom/retorts/criticisms welcome.

If there's random-ness in this I am sorry. Been a long, bad, day and I have a bit of drink in me.
 
Nope. The school I fly at, there is one full time instructor who can train CFI. The other is only part time, on call, and his full time job is an engineer...
 
$1,200 a month isn't much at all. You would probably make more as a CFI. If you could do it and still survive, I'd go for it.

Edit: Is there any way you could fly at night? Or work around your work schedule. I know the job sucks, but jobs are really hard to come by in this economy.

Edit #2: I didn't realize you already had a CFI job lined up.
 
Hence the conundrum. $1200 is pathetic in my mind. Especially for a full time, 40 hr/week, job. But only being offered part time CFI job, I don't think I'd make more. Lesser of two evils, unless I could somehow talk my way into a full time CFI. Problem is, the job I have now, line worker, is only good for networking. After 4 years of doing that, I've realized that the select few, and far between, flying gigs will pretty much go to the same 5 people in town. They all hold "full time" flying jobs, but the aircraft owners only fly so much that these same pilots can also hold all the "part time" flying jobs in town.
 
Is this part 61 or 141 training you are doing? If you are working on a 141 syllabus it seems as though you need to stay or risk repeating some elements in a different 141 environment. If you are flying part 61, then my question is why so much flying? CFI training is GROUND intensive, there is little else to learn in the air that you do not already know. You say you have 8 or 9 more lessons to go, and I would guess that many people only fly that many times in all of their CFI training. Take the spare time you have no instructor and practice teaching some lessons. If you must fly, there is nothing wrong with flying solo or taking a passenger along and try and help them learn something (obviously you need to be flying, and are the only one logging anything). Just my .02 cents, good luck making your decision!
 
COS

And it's part 61. Yes it's very ground intensive. I'll be the first to admit that learning to 'teach" my instructor (2,700 dual given) was a challenge at first but now I'm used to it. Albeit, I've flown twice since Jan in the right seat. So 8-9 lessons is probably an understatement seeing as I didn't do very well from the right seat my first two times (both times I reached to pull power for a maneuver and hit the door with my right hand).
 
Whats the harm in working two part time jobs? One as a CFI and the other driving pizza's around. Or maybe even pumping gas? I worked two CFI jobs last summer, and the summer before that. It was and still is a 7 day a week ordeal, but you get the hours quick, and your pocket usually has enough dead presidents in it to support life.
 
I wouldn't have a problem working two part time jobs at all. I'll definitely have to look in to that. Two part time CFI jobs would be preferable, but I don't think it can be done where I'm at due to the flight training market, or lack there of. Too many CFIs and not enough students. I figure it's like that across the country though.
 
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