WWW – that’s about the best summation of what it is all about. You are correct to say that it is much about personal management of career progression. Having someone manage it for you, for a fairly hefty premium, is an option, but sometimes not good enough to get the job. These big schools scarcely put their mouth where the money is.
Recently I heard that airlines are now looking quite seriously at us lowly instructors again (I wonder why, maybe it is a personality and Multi-crew thing). One of the best things I heard recently was about a 51 year-old FI, who had only been instructing for 18 months or so, has got a job as FO on a Citation. He told me that what he though swung it for him is that during his sim check, whilst he was FO to a 26 year old “Captain”; the “Captain” got disorientated and did a level bust and was approaching 30 degress A of B in IF conditions. Said instructor, true to form and instinctively reverting to type, said “I have control”, reduced the A of B and sorted the level problem, and then handed control back to the “Captain”. Well I might be wrong, but that is what MCC is all about.
I also heard that in a recent examiners meeting, the Chief Examiner commented that the airlines are looking very favourably at the 1000 hour plus instructor.
Food for thought or what?