EDUC8-or
Well-Known Member
ANOTHER Stinkin\' Advice Post!?!
I'm coming to a small crossroad in my flying and teaching career. I'll give a little background for anyone who wants to throw their $0.02 into the pot:
I'm 29 and in my 5th year of teaching. I teach 4th grade. I also have my commerical license and I hope to have my CFI done by the end of next month. The past 2 years I've managed to scrounge together enough money to pay off smoldering credit cards fresh from the FBO and save up enough to get me through my MEI. It was a wise decision to stay in the classroom this year instead of taking out another loan and melting more credit cards. I am now torn between the following options:
Option #1) Teach one more year and instruct on the side. I could save even more money for rainy days. The problem is, the school where I teach has very large classes (I have 29 kids now) and it's 40 minutes away. I'm out the door at 6AM and back home by 5PM most nights. That doesn't leave many daylight hours in the winter and by April that's prime thunderstorm time here in FL. Plus, I'm pretty tuckered out by the time I get home from work, would I really want to go to another job that requires me to be alert and focused after a long day in the classroom? There is always weekends, but most of the people in this area want to fly 3-7 times a week. I'm not really in a huge hurry to get my hours and the money would be nice, but teaching 29 kids can be very stressful at times.
Option #2) Quit my teaching job and instruct full time. My wife can help somewhat with the finances, and I can always substitute teach when money gets real tight. The problem: It's going to get pretty tight. My wife is awesome and I know we can get by, but I also know I'm going to have to really hustle for hours and sub whenver there's a chance. I would have the hours to move on much faster, but there's not exactly a hiring boom going on right now.
What would you do if you were in my shoes? I really enjoy teaching, but I would still be teaching if I made the jump to full time CFI this year. I've made a list of +/- and I'm still on the line in the middle. Any advice is much appreciated.
I'm coming to a small crossroad in my flying and teaching career. I'll give a little background for anyone who wants to throw their $0.02 into the pot:
I'm 29 and in my 5th year of teaching. I teach 4th grade. I also have my commerical license and I hope to have my CFI done by the end of next month. The past 2 years I've managed to scrounge together enough money to pay off smoldering credit cards fresh from the FBO and save up enough to get me through my MEI. It was a wise decision to stay in the classroom this year instead of taking out another loan and melting more credit cards. I am now torn between the following options:
Option #1) Teach one more year and instruct on the side. I could save even more money for rainy days. The problem is, the school where I teach has very large classes (I have 29 kids now) and it's 40 minutes away. I'm out the door at 6AM and back home by 5PM most nights. That doesn't leave many daylight hours in the winter and by April that's prime thunderstorm time here in FL. Plus, I'm pretty tuckered out by the time I get home from work, would I really want to go to another job that requires me to be alert and focused after a long day in the classroom? There is always weekends, but most of the people in this area want to fly 3-7 times a week. I'm not really in a huge hurry to get my hours and the money would be nice, but teaching 29 kids can be very stressful at times.
Option #2) Quit my teaching job and instruct full time. My wife can help somewhat with the finances, and I can always substitute teach when money gets real tight. The problem: It's going to get pretty tight. My wife is awesome and I know we can get by, but I also know I'm going to have to really hustle for hours and sub whenver there's a chance. I would have the hours to move on much faster, but there's not exactly a hiring boom going on right now.
What would you do if you were in my shoes? I really enjoy teaching, but I would still be teaching if I made the jump to full time CFI this year. I've made a list of +/- and I'm still on the line in the middle. Any advice is much appreciated.
