Australian Instructors some advice please

[Lear]

Need some comments from you guys.

I have (just about)got my CPL and am considering doing instructor rating.

My ambition has always been to pursue aviation as a career but I am at the point of not exactly sure which way to go. I am 28 with Bachelor of Commerce degree and about 6 years experience in public practice and business advising/consultant.

I would like to do instructor rating at a school that will employ me at the end. I aim to somehow use my other skills (qualified accountant with some good commercial experience) to incorporate into my flying job ie operations / financial management of organisation I may work for. Does anybody know of any organisation that may be interested in some one of my background in WA if possible.

I would like to try and use my other qualifications to increase my instructor income from the organisation I work for.

Can anyone help me out with advice / comments.

[Deputy]

Lear there is no short cut to your next move into an aviation career. I suggest you door knock all the Instructor Schools and see what they say re possibile employment after doing a rating. Most will be happy to have you work for them on a casual basis if you get the students yourself.
Not easy but persistence has been know to pay off.
nb, you can expect to earn 1/3 of what you get now if you happen to land a full time job. If you are male there is one company in WA that will take you on almost regardless of experience but you may find yourself living in Merredin. ;)

[Hugh Jarse]

Lear, I would be VERY cautious about anyone who says that they will employ you upon completion of your course. Most of them will tell you anything to get your business.

Most of them will only employ you on a casual basis. You can be expected to turn up for work 6 to 7 days a week, man (person) the phones, conduct marketing for the company, and use your business skills. You will also do ground school and the occasional instructional flight. For that you will probably be paid less than award, and ONLY for the flight instruction content. The rest you will be expected to do for free.

I am sorry to paint a less than rosy picture of the industry, but that is the way it generally is. Yes, there are reputable companies out there who will look after you, however the description above generally is correct.

BTW, you don't say how much experience you have.

No disrespect intended Lear, but I am unable to see how a new Commercial Pilot with the minimum CAO hours would have sufficient experience to train others.

My advice is be very careful, and don't discount other paths to further your experience level. :)

[This message has been edited by Hugh Jarse (edited 18 July 1999).]

[Charlie Foxtrot India]

Don't give up your day job!

By all means go ahead and do your instructor rating. Find a school where you feel comfortable, and where you would be proud to bring friends who wanted to have some flying lessons with you. Take any "guarantees" with a very large pinch of salt. Ask if you would be able to do some part-time/casual work once qualified through their school.

Then, do the course and keep up the day job, keep those business skills current, and see if you can do a little bit of instructing work in your spare time.

Otherwise you could find yourself in the situation Jarse described, and feeling very bitter about it all.

If you are out in the big wide world you have the best of both worlds, earning a decent income, doing a bit of flying in your spare time, gradually building up your experience. As Dep said, there is no short cut. The only way ahead is to build up a good reputation and a big network of people in the industry. Then one day the time will come when you realise that you CAN give up the day job. In my case that took eight years. Be patient!


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[Bendo]

Echo all of the above... I took on an instructor course on the guarantee of casual work after graduation. I was one of the last pilots to graduate from the school before it went broke and to make matters worse, the CFI's reputation for "Wierd" techniques made me almost unemployable as an instructor in NSW (And as Jarse will point out with 250 hours you are of dubious value as an instructor anyway). That CFI now works for the Gestapo in your area I think, and take any promises with a bag of pool salt.

Don't give up the day job... as they said above, ... fear, anger, the Dark Side that way lies.

[Ozgrade3]

Lear,

Be VERY careful about what you do, most schools will promise you anything to get you to do their instructor rating. Even if there is allready too many instructors at a school, they'll still keep doing instructor ratings.

Better idea is to go overseas (ie USA) and do some time there.