Second Career-CFI

SuperBTT

Well-Known Member
Hello All,

I am an active duty Army Warrant Officer who is retiring in two years. I am an Electronic/Avionics Technician. I have completed the BS in Professional Aeronautics from ERAU and currently working on the Master of Aeronautical Science degree...which will be completed next year.

When I retire I plan to become a career CFI....would really like to move into the collegiate aviation field as part of university faculty. I do not have any regional/major airline aspirations.

I will be moving to my last duty station soon at Ft. Bragg, NC. I have zero hours of flight time. Should I concentrate on getting my ratings at an affordable FBO, or head to ATP in Raleigh? I really am in no big hurry and I feel that going the FBO route might be more affordable and more in tune to my needs. I don't really feel like forking out cash for a big name.

If anyone can give me some advice about the career field...I would really appreciate. I am not concerned about the pay...as my retirement pay will be around 36K a year...so I can afford to eat while working toward my goals.

Any career CFI's from collegiate aviation or the academies around for mentoring? Thanks for your assistance.

Dan
 
Hey Dan, I would just hit up the local FBO since you aren't in any type of hurry. You will save money also, the big names are kind of pricey. At an FBO most of your learning will come from you, self study. At a big flight school you will get spoon feed some of the information. So its all up to you!

Good Luck, Justin
 
Hello All,

I am an active duty Army Warrant Officer who is retiring in two years. I am an Electronic/Avionics Technician. I have completed the BS in Professional Aeronautics from ERAU and currently working on the Master of Aeronautical Science degree...which will be completed next year.

When I retire I plan to become a career CFI....would really like to move into the collegiate aviation field as part of university faculty. I do not have any regional/major airline aspirations. If you are not tied to the NC area, http://www.dwc.edu/academics/aviation/av_content.shtml might be a good choice as a career CFI. When you get your Masters and become a CFI, you may look into being a professor, but if you are looking to being an instructor actually in a cockpit, then I might suggest going the independent route and being your own boss after you cut your teeth at any given flight school. Why collegiate? Are you looking to teach a college class too? If so that is why I suggested becoming a professor. In my experience, professors do not do a lot of flying though. You can break the mold though.

I will be moving to my last duty station soon at Ft. Bragg, NC. Beautiful country, I've done a good amount of instructing in that area. I have zero hours of flight time. Should I concentrate on getting my ratings at an affordable FBO, YES!!!!! or head to ATP in Raleigh? NO!!! I really am in no big hurry and I feel that going the FBO route might be more affordable and more in tune to my needs. I don't really feel like forking out cash for a big name. We might get some ATPers to disagree with me in this thread too and that will be good to hear both sides, but IMHO doing your ("your" meaning, the original posters situation) training mostly in a twin engine air plane is as pointless as pointless gets. A single engine will do you just fine, and it will be much cheaper. With an FBO you can train as fast or a slow as you want, and they won't kick you out if you are a slow at learning how to fly.
Raleigh NC ATP outfit is a minor outfit, I do not think that the career program is offered there. When I went to that ATP location for my Commercial Multi-add-on in their seminole, it was a one instructor and one airplane operation. It could have grown by now, but not likely. If you really want to do it out of Raleigh, the FBO provides instruction too.
Here is a link to an outfit in sanford NC, http://www.wingsofcarolina.org/
KTTA if I remember correctly. That is the airport that you will be doing practice touch 'n goes if you go to ATP anyway, except you will have to waste time flying there from Raleigh.
I was thinking about applying with these guys http://www.dillonsaviation.com/ when the little lady wanted to move closer to the coast. Keep your eye open for flying clubs to join, there should be plenty more options than the two I know of. Club or FBO.
To be honest, I'm not a fan of ATP but it is your money and you can look at the dollar differences and decide what you think is best for you. Just know that in my two interviews for instructing positions, the question, "how much twin time do you have?" never came up.


If anyone can give me some advice about the career field...I would really appreciate. Do you have any questions in specific? Like how to? or what an average day is like? I am not concerned about the pay...as my retirement pay will be around 36K a year.you are prime candidate to be a career CFI then :laff: Money can be made, but normally not in earth shattering amounts...so I can afford to eat while working toward my goals.

Any career CFI's from collegiate aviation or the academies around for mentoring? nopeThanks for your assistance.
I am not a career CFI, I can't afford that, but I do really enjoy what I do so I will keep instructing in my spare time after I move on. This job is has been one of my more rewarding jobs.

Dan

-Douglas
 
I agree with the above. Without being in a great hurry, what's your hurry? Go with the FBO, enjoy the journey and learn a lot to teach passionately. Best of luck
 
the best way to get a job as a CFI at a college, is to go to that college. Colleges prefer to hire within before looking around for a CFI that was trained at an FBO. At least, where I've worked, they always hired within. Even the CP and Assistant CP where I worked went to that college.
http://aviation.se.edu

Now, it is definately cheaper and more at your own pace if you do take the FBO route, but who knows, if you go to a college and get your Master's, you could potentially make more money and become a professor, like previously mentioned.

I actually almost went to DWC. I loved the campus... Just didn't like the fact that one year at DWC cost the same as 4 at SOSU for a BS in Aviation. Same degree, get to fly year-round (Oooooooklahoma), good atmosphere for studying (there is absolutely NOTHING around Durant, OK). :banghead: The hour/hour & half drive to Dallas is definately worth it. :buck:
 
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