I really NEED help!!!

Bud01 said:
I agree with yo that there are alot of 'bad' instructors out there that are only there for a time building gig. i knew a guy that had a 60% pass rate and was fine with it. He taught his students check rides he didnt teach them to fly for themselves. it was sad. he and i went quite a few rounds before he ended up getting hired at eagle with just over 500 hours
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There really are, which is why I would never encourage anyone who didn't want to teach to work as a CFI. All it does is takes jobs from those of us who want to teach.

My advice: Hang out at the airport and get to know people. Even if it means taking a line or desk job. I've managed to pick up some work here (instruction and Aerial Photography) and there by simply knowing the right people (though, I also have a little under twice your flight time..One of the downsides of alot of 141 programs is that you end up with your comm with very low time (a guy I work with had his CSEL/MEL CFI/CFII/MEI at 225..I was barely Instrument Rated when I had 225), so your goal should be finding ways to build time..Heck if you want to come out to NM, I'll split some time with you (I'm not presently working full time as a pilot and I need to stay current/proficient just like everyone else. Should change soon though.). But like I said, get to know the right people and you never know what is possible.
 
I want to piggyback this thread as I'm in the same boat as OP. I went to Purdue for my BS and MS in Aviation (MS so I can go back to NTSB as an employee someday) and did not get my CFI, I also just don't think I would enjoy it and therefore do a good job at it. Thanks for the suggestions and keep em coming!
 
Boris Badenov said:
I suggest that you learn how to be a pilot before you start writing reports on how other pilots might have screwed up.
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A little harsh for a new member, eh? Maybe I missed the first post of Christian's stating he's not a pilot, but where in right field are you coming from? Have a beer Boris.
 
I really hate it when people say "I don't think I'd enjoy instructing, so I don't want to get it"

I think part of it is a way to avoid all of the studying and the relatively high failure rate of the initial ride. Instructing is fun. Honestly, I didn't think I would enjoy it that much but I was going to do whatever it took to further my career. I got my CFI and got a job, then quickly realized how fun it is.

Those moments when your student gets it are awesome. Watching a student nail a landing, solo, pass a checkride etc, these are all incredibly fun experiences for both student and instructor. You learn a lot as an instructor and it is much more fun than you would think. If you are worried about the checkride and studying process, don't. Like any other checkride you know from the PTS what you'll be tested on. Do your work, study and go teach on your checkride. You won't be a great instructor when you start, just as you weren't a great pilot the moment you passed your PPL but you learn and get better.

Go get the CFI, you'll thank yourself for it later on.
 
To add to that, I still have 2 cards from over 5 years ago from a student. It reads as follows:

Paul,

I've wanted to fly for more than a half a century. You have made that dream come true. There is no adequate way to repay you - but I give you this, so that if you are ever lost, you can find your way back to your friends.

Signed,

John

(Attached was a garmin 696; I still have the card - which do you think is more important to me?)
 
Thanks for the encouragement. I'm looking into how I can fund a CFI a bit now that I'm out of school. I think part of my problem is that the CFIs I knew at my school were not a all the type of pilot that I wanted to be, and that put me off of it. Who knows.

And to Boris: I am a pilot, maybe not well experienced in the eyes of the Av world but a pilot. I'm not really sure where your statement is coming from.
 
I hear you guys say... YOU MUST CFI!!! But I go to flight school, 3-5 x's a week, talk to some of the highest paid CFI's in the Valley with no shortage of student pilots (It's a Korean Air/Asiana puppy mill), and I get to listen to the vast majority of the CFI's me how much it sucks, and the only reason that they're doing it is to get into something else.

Why the disparity between what almost all of you have said, and what I see, in reality, everyday?
 
Canassis said:
Why the disparity between what almost all of you have said, and what I see, in reality, everyday?
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Bitches are relative, aren't they? Most Pacific Wings pilots were once CFIs, I'd venture to say. See how many of them would rather be where they are than "back" CFIing. Very few professional pilots think they've got the world by the ear at 25 or whatever. But that doesn't mean that some of them don't have it better than others.
 
Boris Badenov...

I'm so confused... :confused: Maybe it's late, and I'm retarded. Or maybe, I'm just retarded. But could you translate that for me? I have no idea what you just said.
 
Roughly, "young guys always think they have it tough, but this does not mean that they aren't gaining valuable experience, whether they recognize it or not, nor does it mean that they really have it as tough as they think they do".
 
Christian L said:
Thanks for the encouragement. I'm looking into how I can fund a CFI a bit now that I'm out of school. I think part of my problem is that the CFIs I knew at my school were not a all the type of pilot that I wanted to be, and that put me off of it. Who knows.
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CFIs will be different depending on environment. Pilot mill type schools that hire their own CFI I can see having CFIs that don't have fun. Being strictly standardized in teaching can really make CFIing boring. Also forced x-country routes get boring really fast.

Going to a smaller school can make CFIing fun as you get to teach different types of people. It can be very fulfilling to help some older people attain their life long dream to fly. Also going to any airport you and the student want to go to can be fun. Getting to do actual soft field landings is also a good experience. Freedom in CFIing is where the fun resides.
 
Makes sense. But what if those guys are 30 and 40 year old guys who have been CFI'ing for a while due to furloughs, etc., and have loads of time, yet few opportunities?

I know, I know... Maybe they should join JC and their prospects will improve. :sarcasm: *I am aware that opportunities are what you make them.*

I see a real cynical attitude about the CFI thing, from CFI's, that's all. The VA is paying for mine, and I'm going to get it, but I spend a lot of time weighing going to work for Great Lakes and building turbine vs. CFI'ing. It's not that I don't want to, or won't CFI, I question what is MOST valuable to my flying career long term. I'm finding that there is no "path" in airplane flying, it's taking opportunities as they come and navigating it step to step. That's just my observation, though.
 
Canassis said:
Makes sense. But what if those guys are 30 and 40 year old guys who have been CFI'ing for a while due to furloughs, etc., and have loads of time, yet few opportunities?

I know, I know... Maybe they should join JC and their prospects will improve. :sarcasm: *I am aware that opportunities are what you make them.*

I see a real cynical attitude about the CFI thing, from CFI's, that's all. The VA is paying for mine, and I'm going to get it, but I spend a lot of time weighing going to work for Great Lakes and building turbine vs. CFI'ing. It's not that I don't want to, or won't CFI, I question what is MOST valuable to my flying career long term. I'm finding that there is no "path" in airplane flying, it's taking opportunities as they come and navigating it step to step. That's just my observation, though.
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I half agree with you and half dont. This profession takes sacrifice, no doubt about it, but going to fly a 1900 for 14k/yr isnt a sacrifice, its a sham.

Opportunities ARE what you make of them, but that doesnt make every one of them right. It might have taken me 4000 hours to get a jeeeeeeeeet job, but i never took a pay cut or under cut someone to get here, and in the end, isnt that what its all about?

I might be young, and not have "life experience," but I do know that taking a job at a bottom feeder isnt the way to get ahead. I have a very short list of people that i would intentionally screw over and they were both (told you it was a short list) the type of person that had an attitude of screw you, im getting mine, even if it takes working for free, and both were ex military, coincidentally.

I dont think im ranting at you so much as I am at the general state of things. Yeah, working for great lakes will get you the more valuable time in the long run, but at what cost, cost not just to you, but to the industry in general by accepting piss poor conditions.

In the end, the choice is yours. Its a small world though, and if i was ever in the position to hire someone who went to work for great lakes/silver air as opposed to CFI'ing, they would have a lot of 'splaining to do. Thats great that you have a bank roll that will allow you to work for poverty wages on a 1900, but good luck getting sympathy from anyone when it comes time to make the next step.
 
Canassis said:
I see a real cynical attitude about the CFI thing, from CFI's, that's all. The VA is paying for mine, and I'm going to get it, but I spend a lot of time weighing going to work for Great Lakes and building turbine vs. CFI'ing. It's not that I don't want to, or won't CFI, I question what is MOST valuable to my flying career long term. I'm finding that there is no "path" in airplane flying, it's taking opportunities as they come and navigating it step to step. That's just my observation, though.
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Why not both? Are they mutually exclusive for you? Seems like both would build good flying experience in different ways.
 
killbilly, I completely agree. They are not mutually exclusive, which is why it (flying for GA while working on my CFI, etc..) is a route that I have considered.

cmill said:
I half agree with you and half dont. This profession takes sacrifice, no doubt about it, but going to fly a 1900 for 14k/yr isnt a sacrifice, its a sham.

Opportunities ARE what you make of them, but that doesnt make every one of them right. It might have taken me 4000 hours to get a jeeeeeeeeet job, but i never took a pay cut or under cut someone to get here, and in the end, isnt that what its all about?

I might be young, and not have "life experience," but I do know that taking a job at a bottom feeder isnt the way to get ahead. I have a very short list of people that i would intentionally screw over and they were both (told you it was a short list) the type of person that had an attitude of screw you, im getting mine, even if it takes working for free, and both were ex military, coincidentally.

I dont think im ranting at you so much as I am at the general state of things. Yeah, working for great lakes will get you the more valuable time in the long run, but at what cost, cost not just to you, but to the industry in general by accepting piss poor conditions.

In the end, the choice is yours. Its a small world though, and if i was ever in the position to hire someone who went to work for great lakes/silver air as opposed to CFI'ing, they would have a lot of 'splaining to do. Thats great that you have a bank roll that will allow you to work for poverty wages on a 1900, but good luck getting sympathy from anyone when it comes time to make the next step.
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This is what I've learned in the short time I've been on Earth; 1. Life is not fair. 2. Nobody is going to pay my bills should I fall on my face, not a union, and not a corporation. 3. I am exactly in life where I put myself mentally. 4. My goals and objectives define what and where I want to be. 5. If I'm not paying someone else's bills, or have a very clear picture of that person's finances, I'm not qualified to speak on what is best for them, as much as I'd like to think I am.

I, admittedly, am new at this whole flying game. I'm (this) close to being done with my Commercial. Still have multi add-on, CFI, etc. left. A whole whopping 450 hours underneath me. I'm new. And I'm in the "Why??" stage of my infancy. But, I've seen people get bashed for taking $14,000 a year to fly a plane, I've seen people get bashed for taking $300 dollars a day to right seat in a 402 or a King Air. But, here's the deal. SOMEONE will fly for $14,000 a year or $300 a day because they know it's a means to an end. If I had to explain it, I'd say that it was an opportunity that I acted on to get me the time to qualify me to sit in front of you. If I had the drive to work a full time gig while continuing my education and ratings, I'd think that would work in my favor.

Life is a game. The objective of the game is to do whatever it takes to provide a quality of life for myself and my family. Would you agree with this? Will I go fly for $14,000 a year if I can afford to do it, and understand that it's just part of the process to get to where I want to be in the long run? Yep. I would. Why? Because if I don't, I'll still be at home playing XBox wishing I was flying airplanes, while someone with less pride and clearly defined goals is flying airplanes. Or, I'll be sitting in a 172 with a kid from Korea who has no desire to be there, but knows if he finishes this stupid flight program, he can go home, and fly an airplane to escape poverty. That's the real deal. Of course that's not every CFI's experience, but it's the experience of the vast majority of the CFI's I talk to daily.

Pilots are going to talk smack. That's the nature of the beast. Sully gets obliterated by hating pilots. And I'm not even qualified to hold his flight case. Why would I let anyone like that have ANY influence in my life? Maybe the reason you encountered ex-military people who thought like I do was because they understood that haters hate. That's what they do. And the haters wouldn't pay their bills, anyways.

Will you pay my bills if I sit on the sidelines waiting for the "perfect job" to come along? It might be a while. Understand, I'm not trying to be adversarial with you. I am just trying to make a point.
 
Maybe it's different at the airlines, but in 135, your reputation will eventually precede you, and not everyone shares your uh "nuanced" view of the ethics of working for little or nothing. I would think very hard about how you want to be perceived by a hypothetical future employer.
 
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