Well sorry, I say work-for-free instructors can sod off! We get the p!ss taken out of us quite enough financially as it is. I don't want to work alongside people who are happy to blunder on obliviously and rob some other guy of a wage.
Trouble is, Crash, that people are actually trying to make LIVINGS out of this business ... obviously it's in the interest of the school to give the unpaid guy as much work as he can handle, they get to put the extra amount they're charging for your services straight back into their pockets! Every unpaid hour that you fly, is an hour that some other person on the payroll might desperately need to pay the rent or the grocery bill this month. Whether or not we're career instructors, hour builders or weekend warriors is immaterial - we all need to work on a level playing field.
I have been in the situation in schools back home in NZ, where I have literally been confronted with a first instructing job offer, asked about wages and been laughed at - been told to my face 'if you won't do this job for free, then there are ten other guys that will'. (I didn't take the job). I'd hate to see things go that way over here in the UK, I don't think they will provided we all stand together.
-------------
The PPRuNe side of the force ...
