Life as a career instructor?

[Monsoon]

I am considering becoming a "career instructor", with no intention of becoming an airline pilot. What are the prospects and opportunities like as an instructor?

Thanks for any info.

[capt beeky]

Sad.

The job is great, the people you work for less so. Get into the airlines/charter and teach part time. Instructing jobs are plentiful, and the instructors will become a rare commodity under JAA.

[Monsoon]

Capt beeky

Thanks for your comment.

[gaunty]

Monsoon

Go for it.

Although not one myself I have had the honour of knowing and gaining the benefit of the knowledge of more than a few Master Instructors over the years.
My favourite, Harry S who is modesty incarnate forgot how to fly an aircraft from the left and used to (probably still does) do immaculate aerobatic displays from the right and trained most of the past and current generation of pilots from over my way.
I have never forgotten the comnsumate professionalism and basic advice that has got me out the odd scrape.

Big iron drivers come and go, but I bet we don't affect other pilots lives in the same positive way as the career instructor.

[Sidney Hawker]

The life of the full time instructor is like that of a monk. A continuous search for enlightenment and further knowledge whilst living in abject poverty. Because of the crap wages paid by the exploitive flying schools.
(However it's the dogs b's of a job!)
HAPPY FLYING!

[Monsoon]

Thank you all of you for your comments. I am aware of the low wages, and so I am planning on having a second job. Also with the wages so low, even though I call it 'career instructor', I would like to stay being a freelance. What are your thoughts on being a freelance (that way, the flying schools can't dictate to me what to do and what hours to work etc, I imagine) at the same time as trying to build a career out of it?

[Charlie Foxtrot India]

Freelancing can work well, especially for financial peace of mind. Then one day you can become well enogh established to go full-time and have a rewarding career.

Re.flying schools "dictating" what to do:
Flying schools have to have standardised ways of doing things. This is a basic principle of quality assurance. The CFI may seem like a funny old fruit, but if they say you are to do things a certain way, then that is the way it needs to be done. You have to bow to their experience!

It's important for instructors to have their own style, otherwise we'd all be clones, but you can't really do all your own thing...until YOU become a CFI!!!!


Re what hours to work, this is basically a service industry. To a certain extent it is up to the student, you have to be there when THEY need you. They are the customer. If your student wants to fly at 5am, then get used to it!

Two no-nos of freelancing: working for more than one organisation at a time, and appearing to be treading on the toes of the full-timers.

Good luck!

------------------

[Monsoon]

Thanks CFI for your reply. By saying 'dictating what to do', I meant the hours, like 9 to 5, as opposed to teaching methods... (I dread the 9 till 5 lifestyle!)

Anyway, I agree I just have to be there when the student needs me!

[Deputy]

It isn't the 9 to 5 that you should dread but more like the 5 to 9.
10 hour days are a norm even with salary paying flying schools (few and far between) but all you need is one student wanting to fly before their day job and another wanting night flying and you on commission then the hours really start to add up.
Generally if you are on commission you don't have to be at work when there is no flying.
This is my experience of Oz schools.

ps don't go to the boss looking for sympathy, if you want to run a small flying school your short days are 14 hrs long. ;)
What say Charlie Foxtrot India? :)

[This message has been edited by Deputy (edited 16 August 1999).]

[Charlie Foxtrot India]

14 hours?
Luxury!
I get up half an hour before I go to bed, eat handful of cold gravel, lick runway clean wi'tongue AND pay CASA and Airservices for t'privilege...

BTW pprune time doesn't count as duty time folks...

------------------

[Monsoon]

Ummmm, don't mind 5:00 am ->>>>
as long as it's not to 1:00 am!

I guess right now, I get up at 3:30 am on many days anyway. Do you think I will be able to maintain the flexibility of working hours as long as I comply with the students' request? I am prepared to be flexible enough to fly at 2:00 am if so requested!

[Capt Homesick]

Monsoon, becoming a career instructor doesn't necessarily mean that you'll never earn a living wage- just make sure you keep raising your own standards. I instructed for almost 5 years, and for the last year (as a CAP509 instructor at a commercial school) I earnt almost as much as I do as a jet FO. However, the advent of JAA has hurt salaries. This may be only a temporary glitch, but the lower approval requirements for JAA than for CAA CAP509 mean that schools feel they can hire cheaper staff. Until the forecast shortage of instructors starts to bite at the Oxford/Cabair end of the market, this is bad news for anyone trying to be a career (ie, 12 months a year) instructor.
An example of this was the large UK commercial school who offered me a job several times. The first time, as a purely 509 organisation, they offered me 26k. A year later, as a CAA/JAA hybrid, they offered 23k, but with a bonus scheme allegedly worth 5-10k. After I accepted the job, this dropped to 20k plus the bonus!
Having said that, it can be a very rewarding job- but I like being a jet driver even more. Have fun with it- I did.

[Monsoon]

Capt. Homesick,

Thank you for your rather reassuring post about the salary - I was resigned to the fact that I would never be on more than 10K, but was happy to take that as I love flying for whatever, although I really think instructors should be paid more (at the end of the day they work hard and have a very responsible job - without having another qualified person sitting in the other seat most of the time).

Well, occupying the seat with a nice view on a jet must be nice. I know I will be tempted, but it's extremely unlikely that I will follow that road.

By the way, what (or where) are you homesick for?