General CFI questions.

futurepilot1

Well-Known Member
Hey guys...newbie here. i have some basic questions about CFI. I am interested in a career in aviation...but I am trying to get a handle on all the different career paths. How does working as a CFI work? Are you paid just by the hours you train students? Are there many full time positions? Are you just paid a salary? How is the job market?

Thanks
 
How does working as a CFI work? Like pushing a boulder up hill
Are you paid just by the hours you train students? Majority of the time, if the company makes makes money, you make money. The rest of the time you are off the clock. example, A student is billed $35 for an hour of dual, you get $20 and company gets $15.
Are there many full time positions? Yes. but again you only get paid when you billing a student. Are you just paid a salary?
Some places do salary, but it is rare.
How is the job market? Right now rough, few and far between. Things will be better soon though. Aviation is very cyclical.

Thanks
 
A flight instructor is generally an entry level job where you build flight time while instructing students. Pay is generally hourly based on your billing flight and ground instruction. The better instructor you are and the harder you work the more money you will make. The market is really slow right now, but should improve within a 18-24 months. There are a VERY few sallaried positions for senior CFIs at some larger schools.

The job is very fustrating and very rewarding at the same time.
 
Hey guys...newbie here. i have some basic questions about CFI. I am interested in a career in aviation...but I am trying to get a handle on all the different career paths. How does working as a CFI work? Are you paid just by the hours you train students? Are there many full time positions? Are you just paid a salary? How is the job market?

Thanks

CFI is generally the step you take between "Student" and "Airline/Freight/Charter Pilot." Most CFIs are paid hourly. You bill for flight and ground work time. How much you work and how much you are paid varies widely from $14/hr to $60+/hr, though most places are in the $18-30/hr range. How much work depends on a great many factors. Some instructors bill 10 hrs/month, others bill 100+hrs/month.

"Full-time" jobs as instructors are generally available, but remember you typically aren't paid for hours you aren't actively working with a student.

Salaried positions are uncommon, but extant. Several of the major academies catering to Europeans and/or Japanese students offer such, though they often have minimums including some previous instruction experience. Some flight schools also have salaried positions for senior instructors. Finally, several colleges have faculty and/or staff positions which are salary-based.

The job market--right now--is terrible. We have stacks of resumes at the office with dozens more coming in every day even though we aren't hiring. Eight months ago with instructor ratings you could have gotten a job almost anywhere. Depending on where you are in your flight training, things may have rebounded by the time you're ready to get a job instructing.

As USMCmech said, the job can be very frustrating and very rewarding, not uncommonly at the same moment.
 
For a good honest look into the life of a CFI, check out the "you know you're a CFI when" thread. It was made in jest, but there's a lot of true stuff in there.
 
There are also those of us who have an unrelated full time job and teach on the side. I love to fly and love to teach, it would not pay the bills for me though.

All depends on what you are looking for out your career.
 
There are a great deal of folks who will tell you that being a CFI is like hell on earth.

But, you won't ever learn more about yourself, more about aviation, or more about working with other people.

Don't look at being a CFI as a stepping stone only, look at it as being one of the most important experiences of your life.
 
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