The Practice of Hiring Part-Time CFIs

lapilot

New Member
After talking to some CFI friends in my area, they all started off as part-time instructors because there was simply no full-time positions availiable at the time. Do you think that FBO owners/employers would prefer to hire (if they are hiring at all of course) part-time initially to get a scope of that specific intructor's abilities? Do CFIs willing to work part-time have the advantage over those who wish to instruct full-time?
 
My track record is not so hot today but ...

I'd wager it's more of an employment issue than anything. Part time employees do not need to be provided medical benefits and or other benefits (depending on the state, of course). It's not all that uncommon, anymore, to find entire stores like WalMart, Kmart, grocery stores, etc being stafed by almost a completely part-time workforce.

It's just cheaper for the business to hire two part-time employees as oppsed to a full time employee.

frown.gif
 
The FBO where I got my Private ticket ONLY hired part-timers for the very reasons Pilot602 mentioned - the owners did not want to pay medical benefits.

However, that same ownership expected the CFI's to be there all day and answer phones... but, they were only paid for flight time.

Anyhoo - from my experience - there are FBO's who will only hire CFI's part time.
 
A lot of FBO owners consider their instructors to be independent contractors. I think that this would typically fail the IRS test for independent contractors though. Some of the items:

Are you expected to work certain hours?
Do you work for anyone else?


I'd consult an accountant, but I really don't think that such arrangements are legal or in the best interest of the CFI. They mainly are used to get around employment taxes and worker's comp insurance requirements.
 
Despite being possibly illegal, I don't imagine many starving CFIs will turn down a paying job and the associated hours. There are too few good CFI jobs(Universities, Academies) and too many CFIs right now to be that choosy. Who knows what the future holds though.
 
There are some reputable flight schools that do withhold FICA and SSIC. The vast majority who don't are skirting the law and may wind up in trouble with the IRS.

Still, you are probably right in that just about any job is better than none. And with the income of most CFIs, there are minimal taxes anyway. The bigger risk (at least in my mind) is for the FBO. And most probably just don't know any better.
 
BTW Davetheflyer,
I was in Douglas, GA with Bob Harless not long ago knocking out the CFI-I. He has an assistant helping out with the scheduling and all, but Jackie had a lot more efficiency with the system overall. Regardless, I enjoy learning from Bob and I'll be sending all my students his way. Heck, I've done nearly every checkride with him.
 
Greetings!

Our flight school contracts with several instructors. They set their own hours, have their own business license, and take care of their own taxes, among the many other items the IRS (and the contractors) required us to do to prove that these business relationships were contract. They, even the owner, will get a 1099 at the end of the year.

Many of our contractors own different businesses (software, real estate, and so on) and instruct with us because they enjoy flight instructing.

We offer several benefits to them and specifically sought out a health insurance plan and a health club that accepts independent contractors.

Three contractors are considered full-time. In other words, we'd like flight instructing to be our primary business. When the appropriate time comes, two will close other businesses and do just aviation-related ones.

All of us have specifically stated that we did NOT want to be employees.

Back to the original questions:
>Do you think that FBO owners/employers would prefer to hire (if they are hiring at all of course) part-time initially to get a scope of that specific intructor's abilities?

I think it is more of "does the FBO have enough work to put a flight instructor on full-time?" Full-time is about 5 students flying 2-3 times per week. Certain bottom-feeder FBOs try to keep everyone part time so they can avoid employment issues. I've always tried to stay away from bottom-feeders.

>Do CFIs willing to work part-time have the advantage over those who wish to instruct full-time?

Those saying they are part-time generally have some other job that is full-time. In my dispatch role, it means limited availability. I can't give a 5x per week, morning only, client to someone that is unavailable in the mornings.

>However, that same ownership expected the CFI's to be there all day and answer phones... but, they were only paid for flight time.

That's illegal in most states, and probably federally, too. If the FBO can't obey the employment laws, what other laws are they ignoring, say in the maintenance arena?

Good luck in your job search!
Jedi Nein
 
That's cool, Visceral. I never made it back by by Douglas, but I did send an email with my condolences.

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Anyone considering an independent contractor job should also doublecheck the FBO's insurance. You may not be covered by their policy if you aren't an employee. If there is a claim, the insurance company could subrogate against you. That is, they could sue you to recover what they pay out under the policy. Get the FBO to list you as a named insured or get your own liability coverage through AOPA to be safe if you have any assets you want to protect.
 
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