Do people really fall for this?

Holocene

Well-Known Member
At the top of a Gulfstream Academy advertisment:

"Why waste time being a flight instructor when you really want to fly for an airline"?

It's that cut and dried, huh?

...and good to know the people that'll be training you are "wasting their time".
 
Yes they do. Then, $60-100K or so later with no flight job or instructor certificates, they wonder why life sucks so bad. :rolleyes:
 
I guess it for people who want to take shortcuts in life. I thought about it at times, but I wanted to teach because I like teaching. If I couldn't fly I would of love to be a history teacher.
 
Yes they do. . .especially when they don't have JetCareers in their life to lead them down the path of righteousness.

Unfortunately, only a small number of them go on in life to realize their misguided journey's early in their career. Fortunately for us, we have one in our own population here at JC.
 
wait wait wait.... that was a gimmick?!?! Mother father thats very inconvenient for my career!


lol jk, naaa i didn't train there.
 
"Do people really fall for this?"

Yep. I did. When you don't have all the info that's available on places like JC, then it can seem very tempting, and back then it was pretty damned cheap. Cost me less to go through everything there than Comair Academy wanted just for the ratings (that's Delta Connection Academy now, for you kiddies). This is why I'm such a big fan of what Doug does here, even though I sometimes disagree with some things the moderators do. JC is just about the best source of information to stop people from making these bad decisions.
 
There are plenty of people that have no business CFI-ing.
Then those people probably don't have any business flying an airliner either. Years ago if someone didn't want to CFI, they were told to suck it up or get out. Now it's all about finding an easy way so they don't have to get their hands dirty. Sad. If someone can't hold themselves together for a year or two of CFIing, how are they going to hold up a few years on reserve, a few years of furlough, or a few months on strike? You see it on "other boards" all the time...guys that have been at a regional for a year or two and they are burned out because it's not like the brochure said it would be.

Hopefully, this company catches them.
This company isn't out there to "catch" them. It exists solely to separate less knowledgeable people from their money. The more of them the better...for them.
 
Years ago if someone didn't want to CFI, they were told to suck it up or get out. Now it's all about finding an easy way so they don't have to get their hands dirty. Sad.

Nothing to but heads about but from what I hear from older pilots is there were many other options out there for a pilot and there was something to fly even if you only had 200 hours or so. I heard some companies would pay for them to finish up their pilot training and was waiting to hirer them as soon as they got their commercial. Sorry, but I'm gonna have to strongly disagree with your statement above. Maybe it was the location you were in. I was never told to suck it up or get out. If I were told that today it would go in one ear and out the other.

CFI is not for everyone. CFI is by no means a number 1 priority to build flight time (one of my personal mental hatreds). I have had these types of instructors and they really sucked! From then on I have told myself I will never CFI for the only fact of building flight time. I want to meet all my personal long term goals I had from the beginning of my training before I get a CFI. Trust me, my hands are dirty even though I don't have a CFI. I have done things to in order to get closer to that personal dream.
 
I forgot to add that my personal dream is not flying an airliner. Doesn't mean I won't take that job though if it is offered to me. I'd consider that job as getting my hands dirty :D.
 
There are other options for people that don't want to be a CFI. How many young RJ right seaters said "I don't want to instruct, I'll go to (insert regional)" when the hiring was good and now are going to find themselves on the street with no CFI (back-up plan)?

Now they're going to have to take one of those other options.

Fly traffic, banners, jumpers, aerial photo (though that seems to require some decent times as lots of the operators are using 400-series Cessnas - and not that columbia/cessna 400 thing), go hang out in the right seat of a twin-cessna or king air flying 135 or military.

Those options are available for someone before being furloughed too. If those options don't sound good and CFI'ing doesn't sound good, then I think it's time to suck it up or get out.

No one should think they need to buy a job.

-mini
 
There are other options for people that don't want to be a CFI. How many young RJ right seaters said "I don't want to instruct, I'll go to (insert regional)" when the hiring was good and now are going to find themselves on the street with no CFI (back-up plan)?

Now they're going to have to take one of those other options.

Fly traffic, banners, jumpers, aerial photo (though that seems to require some decent times as lots of the operators are using 400-series Cessnas - and not that columbia/cessna 400 thing), go hang out in the right seat of a twin-cessna or king air flying 135 or military.

Those options are available for someone before being furloughed too. If those options don't sound good and CFI'ing doesn't sound good, then I think it's time to suck it up or get out.

No one should think they need to buy a job.

-mini

At risk of being attacked and told I have no idea what I'm talking about, I am going to say yeah there are plenty of alternatives to both CFIing and the airlines if you get furloughed, but I don't want to bring out that beast again. There are plenty of jobs available, a cool gig would be to right seat in the van at Susi air, go abroad, upgrade quick, and get to see indonesia (or are they in papua new guinea, I can't recall). If you're a religious one, there are plenty of missionary groups flying in africa, or you could go to work for one of the many tour companies in Dar and fly something cool like an LET 410. If you didn't want to do that, or any of the other options listed above, you could consider getting into an Army Guard unit as an enlistedman, and trying to go warrant (ask someone else for details, though I just had a friend do it). Further, for those of you with a degree, if its in Biology, the state of Alaska has a program where those with a bio degree can drive super cubs around the state on bird survey. GS-11 job, with good benes and you get to drive a cub (a tricked out OAS cub if I remember). If you've a float rating you could fish spot anywhere where they catch herring, or I think they spot for tuna too. The list goes on and on.
 
"Do people really fall for this?"

Yep. I did. When you don't have all the info that's available on places like JC, then it can seem very tempting, and back then it was pretty damned cheap. Cost me less to go through everything there than Comair Academy wanted just for the ratings (that's Delta Connection Academy now, for you kiddies). This is why I'm such a big fan of what Doug does here, even though I sometimes disagree with some things the moderators do. JC is just about the best source of information to stop people from making these bad decisions.

I came pretty damn close to doing this as well, until I stumbled onto this site. And I give this site credit for me not going into debt for a "career" that I would hate.

If I didn't stumble onto this site, I'd be one of those bitter sons of bitches everyone hates flying with. I'd be bitching about how I'm not getting paid enough to put up with this nonsense, and I've had it up to here, but I've got to keep on flying to pay the bills.

I'd probably be a captain by now, and I'd estimate at least a quarter of my FOs would quit in a year because of the bitching I did.
 
You see it on "other boards" all the time...guys that have been at a regional for a year or two and they are burned out because it's not like the brochure said it would be.

Other boards?

Hell, there are some of those guys right here on JC.
 
"Yes they do. . .especially when they don't have JetCareers in their life to lead them down the path of righteousness."

I've been preaching against that place since I knew what the internet was. PCL claims he missed the boat. He used to preach Gulfstream long before JC was popular. Give me a break.....
 
Example

Then those people probably don't have any business flying an airliner either. Years ago if someone didn't want to CFI, they were told to suck it up or get out. Now it's all about finding an easy way so they don't have to get their hands dirty. Sad. If someone can't hold themselves together for a year or two of CFIing, how are they going to hold up a few years on reserve, a few years of furlough, or a few months on strike? You see it on "other boards" all the time...guys that have been at a regional for a year or two and they are burned out because it's not like the brochure said it would be.

I kid you not, what I am about to quote is real.

I was in one of the AllATPs centers today taking an FAA written exam on the computer.

While I was in the room on the computer reviewing the practice section, the door was open and the instructor was talking with two students over lunch between sim sessions.

One of the students, who had been in the Frasca just minutes earlier practicing holding pattern entries, said:

"Yeah, I'm considering getting out of this industry. I don't think I can waste several years instructing or whatever else I can get into after training. It's just not worth it."

He has yet to complete the instrument rating! :eek:

Perhaps that mentality is becoming more widespread among people learning to fly, as they see jobs being harder to get if all one has is a newly minted commercial pilot certificate.

I do think that the people who truly want to fly will still do it. But those that want the right seat of an RJ after they finish their RJ course and then want the left seat of the RJ the day they hit 1500 hours and then the right seat of a Boeing or Airbus the day they hit 1000 TPIC must adjust the plan, or risk utter disappointment.
 
Re: Example

Sounds good to me. If these guys bow out because it isn't easy anymore, then the pilot supply dries up. That's good for our prospects of raising the pay and working conditions. The fewer new pilots, the better.
 
Re: Example

I kid you not, what I am about to quote is real.

I was in one of the AllATPs centers today taking an FAA written exam on the computer.

While I was in the room on the computer reviewing the practice section, the door was open and the instructor was talking with two students over lunch between sim sessions.

One of the students, who had been in the Frasca just minutes earlier practicing holding pattern entries, said:

"Yeah, I'm considering getting out of this industry. I don't think I can waste several years instructing or whatever else I can get into after training. It's just not worth it."

He has yet to complete the instrument rating! :eek:

Perhaps that mentality is becoming more widespread among people learning to fly, as they see jobs being harder to get if all one has is a newly minted commercial pilot certificate.

I do think that the people who truly want to fly will still do it. But those that want the right seat of an RJ after they finish their RJ course and then want the left seat of the RJ the day they hit 1500 hours and then the right seat of a Boeing or Airbus the day they hit 1000 TPIC must adjust the plan, or risk utter disappointment.

Its just not his cup of tea, and thats fine, but what he doesn't realize is that the road is going to be much harder, and that coveted job driving the airbus may lay forever out of reach.
 
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