Originally Posted by
Nurse2Pilot
Thanks for pointing me to Cap804 but not sure what you're saying with the rest of your post.
In the long run, I'll be wanting to do both CPL and ATPL anyway but worse-case scenario is that I won't have the funding to go all the way to the end and that's why I'm looking at doing some FI work to keep myself in the scene, earn some extra cash alongside my current job, and continue saving up for the rest of the training (or paying for the loans taken out). I guess the question here is what's the cheapest way to get remuneration for flying, be it flight instructing or banner towing or glider towing or hauling up skydivers?
I'd like to be useful sooner rather than later so IR and night flying would be useful, I think.
Sure, the point I and a few others was making is that to instruct PPL you need the CPL or ATPL exams. I've done both, and the question standard is near identical, so the only difference is in the number of hours required (not that relevant because you want to save money - so will presumably be distance learning). So the ATPL exams are the obvious choice.
Now the important bit: You can get an airline job with 200 hours/100 PIC but to become an FI holding only a PPL you'll require a MINIMUM of 230 hours/150 PIC, and probably more like 250 hours.
Given that the CBIR route allows you to get an IR while hour building and a CPL course costs less than an FI course, in a nutshell: Becoming a PPL/FI as a stepping-stone to CPL/IR makes no sense because it will cost you more than a CPL/IR!