Actually if one looks at it logically it makes perfect sense to learn from someone who has actually been flying airplanes for a living IFR for thousands of hours rather than some newly minted flight instructor who has never been in a cloud in his / her life and their only qualification is they have been programmed as a " flight instructor " by someone who has never flown in an cloud either.
That I basically agree with.
I would however point out that many PPL/IR holders / CPL/IR holders who have never worked in aviation (but have enough relevant experience) prove to be better instrument fliers and teachers than pilots who have spent the last 20 years following a flight director and with 95% of their 10,000 hours spent watching the autopilot fly the aircraft in VMC.
Unfortunately, in Europe and elsewhere, working as an instructor uses up duty time and flight hours which are limited if not by law then by company SOP. Companies often do not approve of their pilots flying outside work other than in a recreational capacity for a number of reasons the most common being every hour instructing means 1 hour less for the company.
As for renewing the rating, how can that "be getting something that would only qualify me to earn lower wages for my instructional skills. " ?
Worst case - you are in the same position you are in now but with the opportunity to teach in a broader number of areas.
Perhaps if you choose the trainer wisely you might learn something!!!
