OhhAndy Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 My question is fairly simple. What is the job market like for a new cfi fresh out of school with 200 hours. 2nd question is whats the pay like as an average cfi ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmfish Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 Personally, if I were you, I'd try to become - at a minimum - an above average CFI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhhAndy Posted September 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 Personally, if I were you, I'd try to become - at a minimum - an above average CFI. Funny, average cfi meaning 200 hrs with instrument training. I dont see on the applications where it says how good of a cfi are you, just your tt and ht and ratings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross85 Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 I'm not to sure what the market is looking like now, but I know 2 schools closed fairly recently near me. I think cfi's are making around $15 could be more could be less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhhAndy Posted September 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 I'm not to sure what the market is looking like now, but I know 2 schools closed fairly recently near me. I think cfi's are making around $15 could be more could be less.OUCH! My wife makes more than that as a teachers aid with no college ed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehh Posted September 2, 2008 Report Share Posted September 2, 2008 Do keep in mind that being a CFI is generally considered an internship position, and the pay reflects that. We currently pay CFIs $20/hr to start, however we're looking to move to a salaried pay structure. Still won't be as good as the GOM or tours, but probably in the $30K a year to start range. I can tell you that I've offered my CFIs whom I want to keep at 1,000 hours more than that. Fly Safe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhhAndy Posted September 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2008 (edited) Do keep in mind that being a CFI is generally considered an internship position, and the pay reflects that. We currently pay CFIs $20/hr to start, however we're looking to move to a salaried pay structure. Still won't be as good as the GOM or tours, but probably in the $30K a year to start range. I can tell you that I've offered my CFIs whom I want to keep at 1,000 hours more than that. Fly Safe!Wow you pay well, much more than the schools here in Oregon. When I finish my cfi I will be looking you up! Thanks for the good information. Oh, also how many applicants do you get for a cfi job on average? Edited September 3, 2008 by OhhAndy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehh Posted September 3, 2008 Report Share Posted September 3, 2008 Wow you pay well, much more than the schools here in Oregon. When I finish my cfi I will be looking you up! Thanks for the good information. Oh, also how many applicants do you get for a cfi job on average? What school are you training at? I will tell you that I'm picky about the resumes I look at, what school you trained at is the second thing I look for on a resume. (your weight being the first) Do keep in mind that we interview 4 or 5 CFIs for each that we offer a job to. I'm picky about who teaches for me, you have to know how to teach, which amazingly enough a lot of CFIs do not know how to do. When I post a job ad, I generally get about 100 resumes, most of them do not meet the requirements of the job posting. My last job ad stated that R-22 and Schweizer experience was required, and I get 50 resumes from R-22 only CFIs. *shrug* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukeChin Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 (edited) ...what school you trained at is the second thing I look for on a resume. (your weight being the first)As a quick aside, if you don't mind me asking, what is the current "going rate" for the average CFI-to-be's weight these days? Or is the answer "as light as possible"? Edited September 4, 2008 by DukeChin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehh Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Depends on the CFI, but generally 200lbs is the max I want teaching in the R-22. I do have CFIs who weight up to 215lbs who teach in the Schweizer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhhAndy Posted September 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Depends on the CFI, but generally 200lbs is the max I want teaching in the R-22. I do have CFIs who weight up to 215lbs who teach in the Schweizer.To answer your question, I weigh 190 and am just starting with Jerry Trimble in OR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehh Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 (edited) To answer your question, I weigh 190 and am just starting with Jerry Trimble in OR. Ok, I'll give you my unsolicited opinion... First, I don't know him, so I don't have anything good or bad to say. So long as he is teaching from a syllabus and has an organized plan, he is probably just fine. (edit: just looked at his web site's about me page... Strange that I haven't heard of him, given his history... In any case, he probably is a terrific instructor given his background and desire to continue doing this. I'd love to sit down and pick his brain, I'm sure he has many interesting stories to share...) Second, he appears to have only a R-22. Make sure that you do not end up with 200 hours all in the R-22, it will limit your options, both due to the shrinking lack of R-22 only schools left and the sheer number of R-22 only CFIs on the job market. (about half the resumes I get are from R-22 only CFIs) Third, he does not offer an instrument program, you'll need the IR to obtain useful employment in this business as a new pilot. Fourth, if he tries teaching you the low altitude tree dodging stuff in the video on his website, run, don't walk, somewhere else. It may just be marking fluff and if so, then fine, but flying around those trees with students is just stupid. I know more than one person who has been killed doing that in the flight training environment. Finally, he is including airplane time to make his prices lower, ditch the airplane time, you need 200 hours of helicopter time to teach in the R-22 anyway, so the airplane time doesn't help, unless you also want to fly airplanes. Let us know how it goes... Fly Safe! Edited September 4, 2008 by jehh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mechanic Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Just thought I would add a little bit extra to this Trimble Helicopters info, free of charge of course, . I have been wondering myself if it would be worth taking a few hours with Mr. Trimble when working on CFI? The helicopter he is flying is the very helicopter that Sporty's used in their video "So You Want to Fly Helicopters?". A friend and I looked into buying that heli last year. Could not get my buddy to commit to it. I also have the Sporty's video, too. Later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehh Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 Just thought I would add a little bit extra to this Trimble Helicopters info, free of charge of course, . I have been wondering myself if it would be worth taking a few hours with Mr. Trimble when working on CFI? That would probably be a good idea... I'd imagine he could share a lot of useful information from his experience, I wouldn't suggest anyone turn that down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witch Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 To answer your question, I weigh 190 and am just starting with Jerry Trimble in OR.Jerry? Can you do me a favor and tell Jerry that Kim Witchey says hi? Tell him that I miss his wit and humor, and full down autos too. Later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.