Kennytheking
Very well said. I used to work for a good company a while ago and the chief training captain also prefered hiring ex (but current) instructors. He's idea who was shared by management, was that instructors seemed to be much easier to train than guys who clocked up hours in another way. To the company they were also a greater asset than non-instructor rated guys. To him it was all about how much the guy had put in in the past to have the qualifications he now holds.
My reply is somewhat off the topic but nevertheless, it's a forum for opinions:
I believe a 1500hr instructor with an ATP would be as good an asset for a company to hire, than a guy with a thousand hours on a medium turboprop, (barring the fact that the latter would meet insurance requirements and the first guy not). Nowadays in fact, flying is much more a "management" skill in the cockpit when it comes to advanced flight decks and I think that the guy who put in the extra miles to get his instructors rating and kept upgrading it, would be better suited to acclamate quick to the transition and later on become a great asset for the company as an instructor.
Im not in anyway saying that ALL comm and ATP pilots should hold instructor ratings. I know a few very competent non-instructor rated pilots who are excellent in the flying they do. My opinion is just that an instructor who flew 1500hrs in a C172 and Dutches' should not be looked upon as incompetent to hold an ATP license. I can tell you that to sit in the right seat hour after hour and counting every bit towards the 1500hrs to finally get the green booklet, takes SERIOUS dedication. I find it almost laughable then when commercial guys who fly reasonably sized/powered aircraft in the right hand seat complain about the logic behind 1/2 of flight time counting towards PIC time. And the fact is, MANY of them fly for contract companies where they spend 2 months away from home a time earning more than an instructor would back in SA. The environment they fly in gives them the perfect opportunity to study for their instructor's rating while in the field and write the exams while they're at home. I can say that by doing it that way you'll get to the ATP requirement much quicker than staying put in the right seat to build that time...
Just my opinion.
Take it easy guys!
