Young CFI/Freelance tips

[rframe]

Does the Civil Air Patrol count?

CAP, despite being the butt of many jokes, can be a good place to get some experience IF your local unit actually does a lot of flying. As a CFI you can get yourself qualified as a pilot, then mission pilot (if you want to participate in search and rescue) and become an instructor. CAP pilots can use the planes to pursue new ratings and need to complete CAP's equivalent to flight reviews, so they might welcome getting another CFI up to speed if it means more accessibility for their pilots. .....Or, you might encounter a bunch of old grouchy Vietnam vets who view you as an outsider.. go visit a few of their meetings and see what the environment is like. Realize going in there will probably be a lot of older experienced military guys, so you might have to prove yourself even more as a "young guy" in that environment, but it might be worth it, so go in with a friendly respectful attitude, not as a know it all.

 

[tomokc]

Earning your PPL is a "license to learn," and the same holds true with earning your CFI. Freelancing may be a better income path for you, but getting on with an established flight school will teach you more about being an instructor, flight operations, organizational interaction with FAA & FSDO, techniques in dealing with difficult students, negotiating insurance policies & FBO contracts, etc. You'll need to know how to respond when a student asks to fly him/her and friends to a weekend getaway, or what to do when a prospective student wants to buy an unsafe beater and you to teach him in it.

If you freelance, you'll not only have to learn to be a CFI on your own, but you'll also have to succeed as an entrepreneur. Both are difficult, but I'd say that the latter is even more so.

Good luck!

 

[FlyingScot]

Earning your PPL is a "license to learn," and the same holds true with earning your CFI. Freelancing may be a better income path for you, but getting on with an established flight school will teach you more about being an instructor, flight operations, organizational interaction with FAA & FSDO, techniques in dealing with difficult students, negotiating insurance policies & FBO contracts, etc.

If you freelance, you'll not only have to learn to be a CFI on your own, but you'll also have to succeed as an entrepreneur. Both are difficult, but I'd say that the latter is even more so.

Good luck!

First off congrats on achieving this level at such a young age.

Tom took the words right out of my mouth. CFI is a license to learn. Being 18 and a newly minted CFI is 2 strikes against you. Offset these by not exacerbating these issues. Study up further with lesson plans, and teaching techniques. Show up to the next FBO or flying club a little better dressed than the next best dressed CFI, with a resume and present yourself as a professional ready to represent their organization in a positive way.

If there are 7 ahead of you at one FBO maybe the area is impacted with too many CFIs, who will also be competing for your freelance work. Hopefully it's a more polite way of saying your too young. How is it that you don't know the local FBOs or they you? If you went from school to school or out of town for your training the schools won't feel much loyalty to you when it comes time to hire a CFI. Ask the schools what it would take for them to hire you, maybe get your CFII from them or teach some ground schools, provide your own students?

I started off my CFI career as an independent and it worked out for me but I had a plane to work with. If you can't find yourself an airplane you are better off working yourself into a busy flight school. While the potential is there to make 40$/hr as an independent if you factor in the time spent marketing yourself you will probably be making less than you would at a school you first 6 months, while gaining little flight time, which is at least as important as the money.