Getting hired as CFI/CFII

[tpstrat14]

How hard is it to get a job instructing at a different location than where you trained?

 

Also, are there other career opportunities for low hour pilots (200 hours) other than flight instructing?

[rjl2001]

I'm sure you'll get a lot of different opinions on the first question, and I'd say the answer is very subjective. My observation is that it isn't easy to get an instructor job anywhere, and my assumption is that it usually gets more difficult when looking towards outside schools. I'd suggest to start visiting and networking with other flight schools early on, and apply to as many as you can to maximize the odds. However, I personally know of a few people who finished up their CFII here and found jobs at other schools almost immediately after finishing their rating. Probably due to their effort put into the job search, good timing, and maybe a little luck. Our career services person at this school likes the quote, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." So with that in mind, a person might have some influence on their luckiness.

 

Job opportunities other than instructing are out there, but seem to be few and far between. I've heard of people getting into agricultural work, or flying sightseeing tours, instead of going the instructor route. Otherwise, seems like when I hear of people finding something outside of instructing it was because they had an 'in', like maybe they had family members working there already.

[eagle5]

Next to impossible!

 

Only 1, Old City Helicopters flying tours in Florida, if you have 20 hours in the R44! If you get to 500 hours there are a few more, but they generally want 100 hours in the 44.

 

...unless of course you know someboby, who knows somebody, who knows someboby!

 

Go to Helisuccess in Vegas, in October (I think). Talk to EVERYONE there! Maybe you'll get lucky?

[eagle5]

Next to impossible!

 

 

That might seem a bit vague, so let me elaborate that, you'll need to find a school who;

 

1. Has just lost, or is losing a CFI.

2. Has enough students that they need another CFI.

3. Doesn't have any CFI students ready to graduate soon.

4. Doesn't have any ex-graduates waiting for an open position.

5. Doesn't already have a "grapevine" through which they get their new CFIs.

6. Doesn't have that rediculous 300hr requirement for hiring non-graduates of their school.

7. Isn't looking for a CFI who has teaching experience.

8. ...and most importantly, you can find them! Since 9 times out of 10 these schools don't put out job ads!

[helonorth]

I don't think it's that hard, at least in my own experience. I worked for a small school and we had very few students that were working towards a CFI. We had a lot of add-ons, rich guys buying helicopters, etc. This was pre-recession time. Every instructor, besides myself, was hired from Bristow (Helicopter Adventures). Samantha would have a few newly minted CFI's call up and phone interview, we'd decide which one we thought was the best fit and they'd start the next week or so. It was that way for quite a few years. It may be different now. flingwing206 was one of those pilots. I guess we did have a "grapevine" but if we knew of someone personally, I think that would have been preferable. Instructing jobs weren't that hard to come by then, either.

Edited May 8, 2013 by helonorth

[Spike]

Train at the right school and your odds of being hired within are best....

 

Train at the right school and your odds of being hired elsewhere are fair....

 

Train at the wrong school and your odds of being anywhere are slim.....

 

Don’t waste your time seeking non-teaching entry level jobs cuz if one did become available, it would be taken by an unemployed CFI in a nanosecond…

And, be careful about internet information. Or better said, would you get financial advice from a homeless dude?

Edited May 8, 2013 by Spike

[Mad Dog]

It is hard but doable.

 

I went to a good Heli school but a very large number of students graduated at the same time as me and there was no need for new instructors at the time. In short, I was not hired where I graduated from.

 

I did get a job offer from a school I did not graduate from. They do not produce their own CFIs. It was actually my top choice out of all the places I applied to and it was also the ONLY place that responded to my attempted contacts.

 

The selection process took a little while but I am super excited about starting. My plan if I did not get chosen after the selection process... Fly to the mainland (I live in Hawaii) and drive around the country and knock on the doors of several schools in person.

 

I think part of what helped me get my particular job was in way a strange form of luck. The number of people who were eligable was probably not too high. The job requires a bachelors degree. It is at a University in country I am not a citizen of where a degree is needed for the professor visa required to work there.

 

I do know another person who went to school with me that got a job offer from Bristow right after graduating.

 

Best of Luck.

[rjl2001]

Only 1, Old City Helicopters flying tours in Florida, if you have 20 hours in the R44!

 

Good call, that's exactly the place where one of my buddies wound up working after he got his ratings.