Jobs for new grade 3 instructors
Thread Starter
Jobs for new grade 3 instructors
Afternoon all,
I've been asked to give advice by someone who is a new Gr 3 instructor how to go about getting a job.
They made the mistake of doing their rating at a small school with no indication on the likelihood of employment at the end. My advice would have been obvious had they asked prior to doing the rating.
I'm not sure whether to suggest just waltzing into the big flight schools in the cities with a resume in hand as they also tend to run instructor programs of their own and employ their own. They may also not just have the good old 'CFI' willing to have a chat like years gone by.
Are they to wait until they see jobs for Gr 3's advertised or is there a better way newbies are doing it these days?
I've been asked to give advice by someone who is a new Gr 3 instructor how to go about getting a job.
They made the mistake of doing their rating at a small school with no indication on the likelihood of employment at the end. My advice would have been obvious had they asked prior to doing the rating.
I'm not sure whether to suggest just waltzing into the big flight schools in the cities with a resume in hand as they also tend to run instructor programs of their own and employ their own. They may also not just have the good old 'CFI' willing to have a chat like years gone by.
Are they to wait until they see jobs for Gr 3's advertised or is there a better way newbies are doing it these days?
Had a fair few of my mates who got Gr3 ratings Last year and during covid end up moving to any large school that would take them (ML, SY and BNE), New start up schools seem to be the winning combination after looking at where they all ended up. It definitely seems to in full swing employment wise though.
Getting a job as a fresh G3 is hard.
For folks looking at doing a G3 instructor rating I would suggest (this all my opinion only, others may offer different advice)
1. Ask why you are doing it - do not do the course if you do not think you really want to instruct but are using it solely to get hours (that doesn't mean you have to want to be a career instructor but if it is just about "I need hours and I could get them instructing", don't be suprised if you struggle to get a G3 job - and if you do, you hate doing it)
2. prior to commiting to a course, discuss with the school their assessment of the market for instructors and ask the school if there is an option of potentially being employed by the school after completing the course. Schools like employing people they have trained because the pilot will know their system, their standards and their attitudes and culture, and they will know the instructor. Rather than employing someone they have to train up into their system who will take up time, money and resources before they can actually start being useful.
3. realise that if a school has a course of several students and will potentially employ one or two after the course is over, they will employ the best student(s) not the ones who were average or below.
4. avoid schools that charge a fixed amount up front
If you have a rating and no experience and are hunting for a G3 job, it helps if you do a bit of research about the schools you turn up to. If you know the name of the chief pilot or CFI beforehand and what aircraft they operate and anything they pride themselves on or specialise in, rather than turning up cold and sticking your head in the door and saying "I want to talk to someone about a job". Doing some background means you will be more likely to get a discussion rather than a shrug and a "sorry we are not hiring" comment.
If a school has a speciality, don't be disappointed if you are turned down cold if you have no background in that speciality. If you have no (or a freshly issued and no real time) endorsement or flight activity on your licence that corresponds to the school's niche specialities they would likely be uninterested.
Be aware, when competing for a job, it helps if you have some strings to your bow. If you have done an integrated course followed by a G3 rating, have the bare minimum hours, have only experienced a couple of types of aircraft and want to start teaching people to fly, you will not look as employable as an applicant who has more hours, has flown more aircraft, experienced a bit more and has more on their endorsements/activities than you. It can be a tough game.
Sadly a brand new G3 rating is not a guarantee of a job and sadly sometimes people do the rating who are not cut out for it. If you fly well (not just average), are passionate about aviation, have good people skills, are disciplined, tenacious and see instructing as something you would enjoy, go for it but be aware you are not a guaranteed a job.
Like I said, my 2c
For folks looking at doing a G3 instructor rating I would suggest (this all my opinion only, others may offer different advice)
1. Ask why you are doing it - do not do the course if you do not think you really want to instruct but are using it solely to get hours (that doesn't mean you have to want to be a career instructor but if it is just about "I need hours and I could get them instructing", don't be suprised if you struggle to get a G3 job - and if you do, you hate doing it)
2. prior to commiting to a course, discuss with the school their assessment of the market for instructors and ask the school if there is an option of potentially being employed by the school after completing the course. Schools like employing people they have trained because the pilot will know their system, their standards and their attitudes and culture, and they will know the instructor. Rather than employing someone they have to train up into their system who will take up time, money and resources before they can actually start being useful.
3. realise that if a school has a course of several students and will potentially employ one or two after the course is over, they will employ the best student(s) not the ones who were average or below.
4. avoid schools that charge a fixed amount up front
If you have a rating and no experience and are hunting for a G3 job, it helps if you do a bit of research about the schools you turn up to. If you know the name of the chief pilot or CFI beforehand and what aircraft they operate and anything they pride themselves on or specialise in, rather than turning up cold and sticking your head in the door and saying "I want to talk to someone about a job". Doing some background means you will be more likely to get a discussion rather than a shrug and a "sorry we are not hiring" comment.
If a school has a speciality, don't be disappointed if you are turned down cold if you have no background in that speciality. If you have no (or a freshly issued and no real time) endorsement or flight activity on your licence that corresponds to the school's niche specialities they would likely be uninterested.
Be aware, when competing for a job, it helps if you have some strings to your bow. If you have done an integrated course followed by a G3 rating, have the bare minimum hours, have only experienced a couple of types of aircraft and want to start teaching people to fly, you will not look as employable as an applicant who has more hours, has flown more aircraft, experienced a bit more and has more on their endorsements/activities than you. It can be a tough game.
Sadly a brand new G3 rating is not a guarantee of a job and sadly sometimes people do the rating who are not cut out for it. If you fly well (not just average), are passionate about aviation, have good people skills, are disciplined, tenacious and see instructing as something you would enjoy, go for it but be aware you are not a guaranteed a job.
Like I said, my 2c
Visit schools in person, dress well and know the operation, that is have some idea of what they operate, who they train, why you would fit in there and any extra skills you could offer. Talk to some instructors and ask to see the CFI if they are available to hand in your resume and get to know who you are working for. Be prepared that the CFI might throw some questions at you just having a chat to see what you know, so be ready as if every chat might be an interview. If the instructors are obnoxious and hard to talk to, do you really want to work with them, and you will have to watch you back that they poach your students for work.
There is no need to offer work for free or similar, if they need instructors they will hire you if you fit the bill. If they don't need a pilot, you won't get much work anyway and will just waste your time sitting around for free.'
WRT to who schools train I mean locals primarily or overseas contract. If you have some experience with the foreign students they are training it can help, but speaking that language is normally not a bonus as they want them immersed in English in most cases so as to operate in an English speaking environment. So speaking Mandarin is not necessarily an advantage if applying to a school that trains Chinese cadets, but having previous experience with Chinese culture and students might be a bonus.
It won't take long to get enough experience to then go wherever you really want, once you get past the need for direct supervision most schools will want you as there is a big shortage.
Lastly, teaching is a social activity, you have to engage with, and have a rapport with the student. If you are anti social and don';t like interacting with people, instructing is never going to be your thing no matter how good at aviating you are. So if you can't approach schools and CFIs etc to get to know them, you probably will struggle with the daily interactions with students. IMO Instructing takes a good mix of skill and personality, you don't have to be the best pilot, but you need to be good, but more importantly you have to be knowledgeable, patient, understanding, relaxed and very good at communication.
There is no need to offer work for free or similar, if they need instructors they will hire you if you fit the bill. If they don't need a pilot, you won't get much work anyway and will just waste your time sitting around for free.'
WRT to who schools train I mean locals primarily or overseas contract. If you have some experience with the foreign students they are training it can help, but speaking that language is normally not a bonus as they want them immersed in English in most cases so as to operate in an English speaking environment. So speaking Mandarin is not necessarily an advantage if applying to a school that trains Chinese cadets, but having previous experience with Chinese culture and students might be a bonus.
It won't take long to get enough experience to then go wherever you really want, once you get past the need for direct supervision most schools will want you as there is a big shortage.
Lastly, teaching is a social activity, you have to engage with, and have a rapport with the student. If you are anti social and don';t like interacting with people, instructing is never going to be your thing no matter how good at aviating you are. So if you can't approach schools and CFIs etc to get to know them, you probably will struggle with the daily interactions with students. IMO Instructing takes a good mix of skill and personality, you don't have to be the best pilot, but you need to be good, but more importantly you have to be knowledgeable, patient, understanding, relaxed and very good at communication.
Last edited by 43Inches; 25th Mar 2023 at 07:44.
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