Seasonal Instructing
There is regular discussion on this forum about the annual salary that an instructor might expect to earn and it is probably a subject that many of you are bored with. However most of the responses to these threads normally quote approximate figures for full time instructors and then suggest that this figure is typically made up of a sum payable for each flying hour and then a retainer, which I gather is usually paid to instructors who work full time.
Given the way you guys are paid I would expect that a good portion of your annual income is earned during the summer months and that the winter is rather lean. Is this generally the case?
I am interested in the possibility of instructing on a full time seasonal basis – I.e. just instructing through the summer months and then doing freelance IT work during the winter – is this a practice that many instructors follow? – Do you think that an arrangement such as this would be agreeable to many schools – I would imagine that for many it would suit them well as they avoid the need for retention payments for guys sat around watching the rain on a wet December afternoon.
If you do think that such a proposal is feasible which are the busiest months of the year – I assume perhaps May through to September and generally what is the take home pay for these busier months. I do not think that I could convince my fiancé that full time instructing is feasible but some type of seasonal arrangement may work. Of course if it was up to me I would live in a caravan on the airfield….