Expat flight instructor job opportunities

mf_eli92

mf_eli92

Well-Known Member
I've posted before regarding expat employment for CFI here in the states. I now have my CFI and CFII certification and have gone through multiple interviews and the only thing stopping potential employers from hiring me is work visa sponsorship. I was wondering if anybody has any tips or heard anything through the grapevine. Thanks!
 
I've had a go at this from back home and it's pretty tough. Plenty of schools are hurting for CFIs but not quite enough to go through the pain of sponsoring a visa. Big schools might one day like Aerosim for e.g.. Sometimes there are expat schools (teaching EASA also) so depending on your country of origin/status it may be possible.

Otherwise if your aim is to work in the US, there are better ways to get a visa (academia, engineer, investor etc) as aviation is not seen as specialist.

Alex.
 
It is pretty tough even for big name schools like American Flyers, ATP etc. to provide sponsorship but have not given up yet. Right now I'm narrowing my scope to universities that have an aviation program like Embry Riddle. I have a contact at Riddle who's from Kenya and they sponsored his H1B, but he was also an alumni. Applied for the job just waiting to hear back, and in the mean time apply for work at other universities and enjoy my time off.
 
Cool, let us know how it goes. I work as an adjunct for ERAU in Europe, hasn't helped me yet...
 
I would look into flight instructor positions outside the United States. There are some schools abroad that would let you convert your FAA certificates. I personally went that route and came back to the US after securing the green card-- how you go about this while you are away form the US is up to you if you still want to come back to the US.
 
Yeah right now I'm away from the US and looking into cfi positions in my country. @ahw01 I've heard about that, and I used to live in Abu Dhabi and have done research but found zip, any school suggestions?
 
I've also looked into the flight schools here in Malaysia, and they do require me to convert my license. In order for me to obtain a Malaysian CPL/IR and Frozen ATPL license, I need an approval from the Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia then undergo an abridged course which the Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia will stipulate the requirements for the course. The course fees alone will costs from RM130,000 to RM180,000 (USD32000 - USD44000) and will run from 8 to 12 months.

I contacted one of the schools in Florida that offer F1 visa and OPT after training, and they're offering me the F1 for doing my multi add on and MEI with them for USD26000 granted that I fly for 35hours in their seminole. This option makes more sense to me since it is cheaper than converting my license and waste another year before I can even work and whilst in Florida I can get the multi engine add on which I'll need eventually in the future; plus the guarantee of OPT for 3 years.

Other than that I'm planning to apply for a flight instructor position with Susi Indonesia. I have a friend back in my pilot training days from Russia who is currently working for Susi and mentioned that there's a position available and they're ok with FAA license.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top