If you instruct, be prepared to put up with being viewed as incapable by muppet charter pilots and their CP's. There is definitely a stigma attached to instructors in regards to their ability to fly and operate in the 'real world'.
This despite the fact that once I moved into charter, it was immediately clear everyone is just as bad
Instructing Pros:
- Good hours. Rarely start before 6, no 16 hour days etc.
- Often good people company. I fly boxes around these days so I pass my fellow employees like ships in the night. In contrast I still regularly socialize with my old instructor mates.
- 'You don't have to go'. Ill get to what that means in a bit.
- Can be good pay. Starts out bad, but I ramped up to 60K within the first 2 years, which is fine. Not many people in a chieftan making 60K.
- Rewarding - Sending a good kid first solo, watching them knock over flight tests, very rewarding. You form real friendships with these people. I still talk to so many to this day.
- The best place to develop your knowledge of Aviation. Provided you're not a slack ass, by going over the theory so often, teaching it in on the ground and in the air, you'll have an excellent handle on all things theory. Things that draw the blankest of blank faces on many low time charter pilots.
- Flyaways! Sounds stupid but the ability to just decide you want to go place X for the weekend, Hamilton Island or something, is fantastic. Students love it and you can have some magic experiences.
- Planes slightly less likely to kill you. This is in my experience only though, I assume there will be instructors who tell you that at place X the planes are pretty bad. I suppose investigate this before you start.
Instructing Cons:
- The paperwork. The endless, pointless, horrible paperwork.
- If you're in a sausage factory, can be significantly less enjoyable.
- You don't get to fly much.
- The circuit. You will learn to dread the circuit.
- The repetition can get a bit much. Doing the same lesson 4 times in 1 day. Bleh.
- Flying 6 times in 1 day. Also bleh.
- Absolute bastard to build twin time. Unless you're there forever.
- You won't progress as fast as a charter pilot.
- Sham contracting is everywhere.
- Putting up with muppet charter pilots who despite getting an ESIR the day before for blasting straight through CTA, will label you a circuit queen
- Not very exciting aircraft.
- Sim supervision. I always hated sim supervision. You can't log it, its pointless for you professionally.
Charter Pros:
- Exciting aircraft (at least compared to a C152)
- A real feeling of being out there and doing what you've trained for.
- Challenging and interesting flying.
- Developing your decision making skills.
- Enjoyment of seeing the correct heading, and altitude, for extended periods of time. That will only make sense to instructors I feel
- Autopilots!
- Fast hour building. Faster progression. From my viewpoint, charter pilots definitely seemed to progress onto airlines faster than instructors. This may not be fact, just the way I saw it happen over the 4 or so years I instructed.
- Much easier to build twin time once you're endorsed.
Charter Cons:
- The hours can be horrid.
- 'You're going'. Contrary to what I mentioned above, its not like instructing where you spy a bit of weather and cx the flight. You're going. Obvious things like fog etc you're going to sit on the ground, but other than that, you're expected to go. Cells? Fly around them. Sev Turb? Do up your seatbelt. You get the idea. Now I'm not saying 'you have to go', i'm saying 'you're expected to go'. Note the difference. What you actually do is up to you.
- Easy to let your knowledge and standards slip. Ask the average low time charter guy/gal to describe the difference between power and thrust, or draw the power graph with all the relevant points on it. There will be always be an argument as to how relevant all this is, but you get the idea.
- Pay is generally bad. Not until you're in the left seat of a turbo prop do you really face the prospect of being payed anything approaching livable.
- More difficult to get a job in a major city.
I always wanted to pursue both forms when I started out. So I started in instructing, moved through and ticked all the boxes then transferred over to charter starting on a little piston twin and working my way up to the left seat of a > 5700kg turbo prop. I feel richer for having done both, however I acknowledge that the people who started at the same time as me, but avoided instructing, all progressed into a big plane much faster than I did.
All the above is my opinion only. Good luck with your decision.