Re: Job oppertunities
If all you're trying to do is make the most money, you have a good point. But there's something to be said for the work environment, location, etc. Working at big academies, teaching future airline pilots, living in Florida or California, is not everybody's cup o' tea. If you can get a CFI job working in a location you like, with decent students, and decent management, but the pay is $10/hr less than you could get at that "other" job you're not very excited about...my goodness, take the job with less pay and enjoy your life.
JRH,
Thats exsactly what I've done, btw I only make $20/hr! I live 5 minutes away from the airport, actually my parents do...and I moved back home when I became a CFI. I drive 45min every day to the local state college, I have one semister left and already have my 1200hrs, which was my goal. I'm pretty much the only CFI within 50 miles, and I dont have to deal with little pukes that only want to fly a jet. I've given dual to over 30 people that I can remember, and I've only dealt with someone under 30 years old twice, and they were both rental checkouts, one of which is no longer allowed to rent from us! The point of this isnt that younger pilots suck, but that all my students are mature, and I learn alot from them.
The arrangement I have with the guy who runs the FBO (not a CFI or A+P) is that he handles the billing and schedualing for me, pays me 20/hr and charges 35/hr for me. I teach in his arrow, cherokee, and C-150 and I used to teach in his tailwheel C-140. The planes are good, G-530 in the arrow, G-430 in the cherokee, not bad for $119 and $85 respectively. If I had to do it over I'd probably just do my own schedualing and billing (i do alot anyway) and take the full $35 because he cant find another instructor anyway, he's been looking for a year now, but the current arrangment keeps things friendly. I do alot of multi-day trips with students. One student of mine is the president of a good sized company, and he and his wife befriended my girlfriend and I, so he takes us along on business trips and vacations, all expense paid (bar harbor, nantucket, chichago, detroit) in exchage for dual given along the way, he's not IR. There are many other perks like this for being "independant"! (i get alot of big bills handed to me as tips on a regular basis, and taken out to dinner too much)
Sure it was intimidating when i first got my CFI, showed up to the airport and there were 6 students who had been waiting months for CFI to come to their area, all I had was my experiance as a sailing instructor... but you pick it up fast (a fellow CFI to copy woulda been nice tho).
Sorry this is long winded, just didnt want you to get the wrong idea JRH, we seem to have alot in common from our posts so far on JC.
Edit: I just remembered another perk! My very first student was a smart cute girl I had alot in common with, I kept it student/teacher as long as I could, but we've been together a year+half now! She's now miss VT. If I was just another flight school drone with a crushed spirit I wouldnt have had a chance, but being "the man" at an airport boosted this formerly shy kids ego enough to dare to try with her.
