Chances of low-time US citizen getting instructor/GA work?

[Foray Access]

I'm a US PPL holder and will have an instrument and maybe commercial licenses by the end of the summer. I'm pretty set on working my way up to ATP and flying passenger jets around SE Asia in the long-term, but I know that's a fair sight away from where I am right now, experience-wise.

If I were to migrate to Australia and do the necessary license conversions, is it likely I'd be able to find work as an instructor? I have taught technical topics in SE Asia for a few years so I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy it; hopefully that experience plus my university degree would make me an appealing applicant.

If, hypothetically, I could get the immigration front sorted on my own and not burden potential employers with providing me a 457 visa, is it likely that as a foreigner with 250-300 hours, a university degree in an unrelated field, and prior teaching experience, I could get a job as an instructor?

Would that only realistically be a possibility if I do my CPL and flight instructor training at the same school where I'm trying to get hired on?

Is the path from piston single instructor to multi-engine turbine commercial pilot a well-trod one in Australia, or should I be looking at a different route altogether?

[tail wheel]

Unless your tertiary degree is in a trade/profession on the skills in demand list with Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) code less than 499999 and you are prepared to work in that occupation, your first major hurdle will be an appropriate Visa. You will not get a resident or work permit Visa based on your pilot qualifications.

[Foray Access]

Not intending to take the thread off on a tangent, I can confidently say I will not need to rely on my piloting skills to secure resident and work permission for Australia.

My concern is more about the job market for instructors and whether it makes more sense to pursue my long-term goals by building time as an instructor or following a different path.

[Lasiorhinus]

Which is probably why he said he's not looking at a pilot-based work visa.

The fact that you have a degree is irrelevant; what you need to get work as an instructor is an Australian CPL and Instructor Rating. Your prior teaching experience will make the instructor rating course easier than someone with no teaching experience.

If you want to fly multi-turbine-charter, though, forget instructing. Go north, fly a 210 on charter, and progress that way.


Schools who do instructor ratings often (but not always) hire their own graduates, so discuss this with your potential schools before you part with any of your own money. It is, however, not at all a requirement that you trained with someone before they hire you.

[training wheels]

I'm pretty set on working my way up to ATP and flying passenger jets around SE Asia in the long-term

If that's the case, then why don't you look for flight instructor jobs in SE Asia then? There's been a few cases where flight instructors here have gone on to becoming F/Os in airlines. Some of whom even do a mix of instructing and airline flying with the same company.

[Kodachrome]

If you can get a visa sorted you'd have no issues getting a job compared to an Australian national. If you're looking for work with the guys in the NT it will probably help, the accent will stand out and they'll remember you (the trick is to be remembered for positive reasons).

If it's something you really want to do then there will be ways and means of doing it

[Foray Access]

If that's the case, then why don't you look for flight instructor jobs in SE Asia then?

It would make more sense that way, wouldn't? But my path to a working visa in SE Asia is much tougher than the same for Australia, so in the big picture it's more practical for me.

[Foray Access]

If you want to fly multi-turbine-charter, though, forget instructing. Go north, fly a 210 on charter, and progress that way.

Lasiorhinus, so it's not necessary to have heftier experience to get started with 210 charters? Or are you saying that multi-turbine work isn't accessible by building time as an instructor?

Thanks all for your input so far!