Flight Instructor jobs in SE Asia

[onthelanding]

Hi guys! This is my first post on the forum:D I have a Frozen ATPL and I expect to complete my JAA CPL-IR Multi with FI Rating before July this year. My goal is to work full time as a FI in SE Asia for a few years, then get an airline job and instruct part time. Can anyone share their experience, give tips on where to apply for work, and in general enlighten me on life as an expat in SE Asia?
Thanks

[Passenger 07]

You can get a FI position in Malaysia (6 schools recruiting expats), Thailand (1 school utilising expats).
India is facing a severe issue as owners of FTO do not succeed to get the authorisation to use expat instructors due to opposition of some militaries.
We should see something happening soon in Indonesia.
No yet an operational school in Vietnam.
Philippines, several schools but a lot of issues. Training Standards are suspect in some schools,
China is also utilising expats FIs (Several schools)
However there are restrictions imposed by local Civil Aviation Authorities (Minimum hours of experience as instructor) and this varies with time and Countries. Same for the quality of the Schools very depending upon the Management, varies with time. Take your information when ready to get in....
At date, it seems than China is the less restrictive and Thailand the more demanding.
When you will be ready, you have to enquire the exact conditions.
As expatriate you have to understand that there are some important cultural differences and that priorities are not always the same than in Western Countries.
Decision Making process in Asia is often very slow, with some non controllable factors (local policy, grab, influence of Military body in some Countries...).
If you are able to cope with this you can have a nice life but if you are focusing on the negative points, you can be very miserable. This perception of environment is depending on your own personnality. I , personnally do not want living anymore in Europe, but I recognise it is not always easy here....
Cheers

[mingalababya]

As expatriate you have to understand that there are some important cultural differences and that priorities are not always the same than in Western Countries.
Decision Making process in Asia is often very slow, with some non controllable factors (local policy, grab, influence of Military body in some Countries...)

Some very good advice there from Passenger 07. You'll need to have a lot of patience here as things happen very slowly. If you'd like to treat your time in SE Asia as a cultural learning experience as well as time building, then you'll enjoy it (as I am, currently). But if you're only here to build hours fast, then you'll only get frustrated and in such cases, you'd probably be better off instructing back home.

Just a note, though, if you're considering China, you'll need to do some kind of CPL and IR conversion which involves sitting for the CAAC written papers as well as a checkride. The written exams (all multiple choice) is the biggest challenge since a fair proportion of the exam questions are written in the type of English found here (http://www.engrish.com/). Having said that, they're not impossible to pass and few of us recently have been able to pass them all on the first attempt. If you have further questions about China, feel free to PM me, although my experience is limited, being a newbie here for only 2 months :)

[onthelanding]

Hey, thanks for the replies! The two most interesting countries to me so far seem to be Thailand and Malaysia. I must admit that the combination of the warm climate, food, way of life, and the laid back atmosphere of Thailand does appeal to me. I have never been to Malaysia but I would imagine being so close to Thailand there will be major similarities between the cultures. The difference in religious beliefs might be the most prominent difference? I have no issues with the fact that things sometimes take longer to sort out in different parts of the world, and I am not going there in order to log hours fast.(There is a FI shortage here in Norway too...) China seems a bit daunting to me, it's such a giant of a nation. I have heard of ATC, Air Force and other authorities' unwillingness to cooperate properly with schools and instructors. Not to mention the pollution in some cities... and the cold weather I am trying to escape from... Am I completely wrong here? The Engrich always guaranties to put a smile on ones face though ;) India seemed intriguing, until dark military clouds recently appeared on that horizon... Indonesian carriers have been banned from EU-airspace, right? Because of this I'm thinking it might be a good idea to stay out of Indonesian aviation all together. Do you agree?
In China and Thailand the pay seems to start between 20000 and 30000 USD. Can I expect roughly the same in other SE Asian countries? And what benefits do the schools usually include?
Passenger 07, you wrote that there are 6 schools in Malaysia recruiting expats, I can only find half that number... Is there a site where they are all listed?
Thanks again for sharing your experiences with me guys, I really appreciate it!

[Passenger 07]

Concerning Malaysia, the 3 main FTOs are APFT (Kota Bahru), HMA (Langkawi), Malaysian Flying Academy (Malacca), and there are 3 other ones: in Bintulu, IPOH, and Johor Bahru; they should be listed on the Malaysian DCA website.

[onthelanding]

Thanks Passenger 07. I'll check out those schools today:)

[Garfs]

Another school has also just opened in Sabah, and worth asking them if they are recruiting?

I think its called Austral flight management or something.

HTH
Garfs

[Passenger 07]

About Malaysia an interesting website is the Malaysian Student Pilot Website; you have to sort but it can give you very precious information

http://www.flydamnit.com/forum/

[kwaiyai]

onthelanding, it might pay you to get some Instructing experience first before
applying. they may not be interested in zero time FI's at the moment.
Regards,

[onthelanding]

I checked out the flydamnit forum and found some useful information there. Thanks for the tip! I will do some more research on the schools mentioned above and send off application(s) soon.

[onthelanding]

Hey Kwaiyai. Doesn't Kwaiyai mean large buffalo in Thai? May I PM you?

[Passenger 07]

I confirm what is writing kwayai;
A minimum experience is set up by local Civil Aviation Authorities.
In Thailande for example 600 hours of instruction are required.....

[kwaiyai]

If U know Thai, It means something else:mad: := :eek:
Ting Ting Na Khup.
Yes go ahead with PM but apologies if I delay in replying.
By the way Passenger 07 probably more current on the Scene as I am
currently elsewhere. Regrds,

[onthelanding]

Ahhh, ok, I got it:uhoh: too rude to be continued...:E
Thai-English often throws me...

I'll be in touch, thanks again for all advice so far.

Regards,

[thornycactus]

onthelanding, it might pay you to get some Instructing experience first before applying. they may not be interested in zero time FI's at the moment.Regards,
Very true!