req: CFI job advice

Gattman wrote:
Hey, all. I'm looking for a bit of wisdom here. Background is, I'm a
system administrator whose job just dissolved in a corporate buyout and,
after being promised that if I came over I'd keep my salary and title, I was
sleazed into a 30% paycut (given a single day to either sign it or hit the
road) and a new position that they've literally lie to interviewees to fill.
If you've seen Office Space, that's beyond the deal. To keep it short I'll
just say I'm done there as soon as I find another way to feed and insure my
family.

Yesterday at the FBO three miles from my house I overheard the manager and
chief instructor send a potential student across town, about 30 miles, to
Hillsboro because there's already a student waiting list due to an extreme
lack of instructors. The chief pilot said "It's going to be a hard winter
because we don't have -any- available instructors out here."

Their website has indicated for the last month that they're hiring CFIIs,
but they told me at this point they're hiring CFIs who intend to add the
second I. Basically, they're desperate (I did not identify myself as a
CFI-student.) Despite the 50% cut in pay, my internal ADF is pointing
right to their front door.

I have a $600/mo house payment, a one year old and a wife who will be out of
college (second degree, already getting lucrative job offers) in the spring.
We have enough money saved to get by until then, but before I approach them
for a full-time job (they claim instructors work 40-50 hour weeks) I'm
hoping to find out what questions I should ask them and if there's anything
I need to know. I finished my Commercial in June and I'm ready for the
FOI. My wife agrees that my current work situation cannot hold out until
she graduates.

Any advice or hazards I should beware of?

-chris
CP-ASEL-IA


I'd give the situation a LONG hard look if I were you before devoting a
ton of time into developing a CFI position full time.
With a family and responsibilities, I'm not saying it absolutely can't
be done, but it's been my experience that it's highly unlikely it will
work out the way you might be envisioning it at this point.
You can of course, considering your wife is gainfully employed, work a
CFI rating into a part time position that augments your wife's salary,
but if my experience in the instruction community is an indicator, you
might find the "augmenting" a bit less than you might be expecting.
I know of few FBO's running instruction programs that work a CFI at 40
hours a week PAID time. Between the weather, aircraft down time, and
everything else that gets in the way, I'd be amazed to see you producing
40 revenue hours a week in today's GA environment.

I realize this will be a personal decision for you based on information
I don't have at hand, but if you actually can use my experience in the
community, I would advise you to go ahead and get the CFI, but plan to
use it as a part time endeavor rather than full time. I would plan for
permanent employment outside the CFI environment in your chosen career
field and augment your combined career earnings with money earned as an
instructor.
I know many CFI's who have gone the part time route and have ended up
fairly happy with that decision. Conversely, I know of not one CFI
employed full time with a mortgage, a family, a car, insurance, and
college tuitions to look forward to who is making it on today's CFI salary.

--
Dudley Henriques