School's Reputation Vs. Ability to be hired as CFI, SoCal

[Rookie02]

Has anybody ever heard of a school called Celebrity Helicopters out of Compton, and if so what is their reputation?

 

How important is the reputation of the school? Also, should the possibility of me getting hired as a CFI with the school after I finish have any bearing on my decision to attend a particular school or not? It would seem that you kind of have to bank on your school hiring you because if they don't, you're going to have a hard time finding a school willing to hire a newbie CFI they didn't train, but of course this is just my impression thus far.

 

This past year I've been putting together my Warrant Officer application for the Army. A couple of weeks ago my fiance and best friends "staged an intervention" in which they told me it was the wrong choice for the person I am. That day I decided they were right and of course that's they day the ARMY called and told me I was accepted, which I then politely refused.

 

Which led me here, and thank god I found this site because last week I thought Silver State seemed to sound like a good option; ha.

 

Right now I'm looking at Celebrity, PCH, Twin Air, and Civic.

 

I had a school tell me that most schools will not hire you as a CFI unless you have 500 hours. Is that true?

[apiaguy]

well, first off, I think you should have chosen the army.... suck up your conceptions about you not being the kind of guy for it and go for it.....

 

I believe a schools reputation has no bearing on anything if you get to be a CFI for them. Your using them and they are using you....

If you don't train at the place you end up being a CFI all that matters is that you fit their qualifications for employment...ie usually 200-300+ hours total time.

Sure, if your school has a bad reputation with the hiring company it might make them twitch.... just depends on how desperate they are to fill a position and I would say most people are willing to look more at the individual than where they did their training.

 

Location means nearly nothing in the helicopter flight instructor world.... people may argue otherwise but show me where it has meant anything....

what matters is you have the hours!! that is all in this industry....

well, see the string about attributes of a professional helicopter pilot.... those are important too.

[slick1537]

There is a flight school in compton?

[Rookie02]

well, first off, I think you should have chosen the army.... suck up your conceptions about you not being the kind of guy for it and go for it.....

 

I believe a schools reputation has no bearing on anything if you get to be a CFI for them. Your using them and they are using you....

If you don't train at the place you end up being a CFI all that matters is that you fit their qualifications for employment...ie usually 200-300+ hours total time.

Sure, if your school has a bad reputation with the hiring company it might make them twitch.... just depends on how desperate they are to fill a position and I would say most people are willing to look more at the individual than where they did their training.

 

Location means nearly nothing in the helicopter flight instructor world.... people may argue otherwise but show me where it has meant anything....

what matters is you have the hours!! that is all in this industry....

well, see the string about attributes of a professional helicopter pilot.... those are important too.

 

Well the Army did have perks, paid training, a decent paycheck, healthcare. However, there were major drawbacks. Alabama for two years of training did not sounds like much fun, deployments, having no say over my life for the next eight years, and then comming out with 900-1,100 hours. I'm not saying it's a bad gig, just don't know if I would have been happy. I'm trying to see if the Guard will let me fly for them; improbable, but they would pay for training.

[Rookie02]

Yeah, it's called Celebrity. I don't know much about it though

[klas]

Yeah, it's called Celebrity. I don't know much about it though

 

There was another thread here about Celebrity, but don't remember when. Try a search here & maybe you can find it.

 

EDIT: Nevermind, here is the thread where celebrity was previously discussed:

 

http://helicopterforum.verticalreference.com/helicopterfor...mp;hl=celebrity

Edited May 17, 2007 by klas

[klas]

.... I'm trying to see if the Guard will let me fly for them; improbable, but they would pay for training.

 

The Guard would pay? Are you sure? And how do you think they will be different from the regualr army with respect to deployments & time, especially in this time of war? Tons of guard troops have been called up.

[Rookie02]

Yeah, the Guard will put you through school, but not through civilian school, through Army Active Duty school. And your right, I would almost definetly be called up. But being called up is okay with me. I never had a huge fear of deployment, I was more adverse to the "Army lifestyle." Not that it's bad -- don't want to offend anybody. If I could somehow go Guard, I have the ability to serve my country, have school paid for, fly some great airframes, but I can still live in California, and except for deployments, serve in the military one weekend a month, two weeks a year. It's a small chance that they will allow me to do this because I am not prior service, and the Guard, unlike the Army has rules against this, but there is a chance. I've already taken the time to put together my application, so it's easier for me to try and sell myself to Guard; some people in the Guard are saying no way, and one officer has said maybe. So I'm going to try.

[zemogman]

The Guard would pay? Are you sure? And how do you think they will be different from the regualr army with respect to deployments & time, especially in this time of war? Tons of guard troops have been called up.

 

I agree with klas...

 

The Army National Guard is definitely deploying...if that's something you don't want to do.

 

However...if you are talking about the Coast Guard...check out their website...http://www.uscg.mil/top/careers.asp...they have plenty of criteria including college to fly as on officer(if I'm not mistaken)...not a bad option though...relocation is still an issue...don't know where you stand there???

 

I can relate Rookie02...I postponed joining the Navy...6 years active duty...because of someone else's intervention (like your case)...a long time ago. In my case, they were right, cause at the time I was running away from some family issues irresponsibly...however the military bug stayed with me and I joined the Marines a year later in 1989 (oohrah)...I joined the reserves (so I could finish college)...I was deployed in 1990 and didn't finish school...also...I never got to fly in the corp (long story), but I got one heck of an education.

 

Therefore, it's always good to evaluate your decision for the military; that decision should never be taken lightly...I hope you re-evaluate that decision...it's not for everyone...just be sure (as sure as you can be) that it's not for you! Make a clear and honest "pros and cons" list...(you may have already done this) and take others advice..but in the end make it your decision. It can be the best 8 years of your life or the worst...it's mostly up to you and your attitude!

 

I do not regret my decision to join even though I didn't get to fly...the military helped make me who I am today...Just my .02 cents.

 

Best to ya...

[DynamicallyUnstable]

I think that reputation is a pretty big deal.

See, if you get hired on at the school that trained you then great, you only have your next employer to worry about and if apiaguy is correct and you give a potential employer a "twitch" when he hears where you did your training, no big deal right? Well, if you are the only one gunning for it, thats great but what about the other 5 pilots after that job? You all have everything else equal but your training school gave the employer a twitch? First application in the trash I would guess ya know? I have always believed that a school has a good or bad reputation for a reason and usually it will reflect in the quality of the training. I wouldn't want sub-par training weather I got my certificate or not out of it.

This is not even considering getting a CFI job if your school doesn't hire you. Good luck getting a job with a black cloud hanging over you.

Just my .02

[apiaguy]

you make it sound like there are schools all over with bad reputations and that bad reputation has something to do with their quality of flight training... or the quality to which they produce pilots. I would like you to name some because I don't think it is as much the school as it is the student... a good student can prosper in any school.

 

I think the schools with a bad reputation (ie SSH and others) have that bad reputation based more on how they treat their students/employees and less with the quality of training.

 

The flight examiner I took my checkride from covers the whole northwest and he admitted that very few schools are teaching poorly, especially the bigger schools... they know what to do to get their students to pass.

 

If a potential employeer has such a huge chip on his shoulder because of where you did your training it is not the end of the world like you make it sound... there are other jobs.

 

experience, experience, experience in this industry

[DynamicallyUnstable]

you make it sound like there are schools all over with bad reputations and that bad reputation has something to do with their quality of flight training... or the quality to which they produce pilots. I would like you to name some because I don't think it is as much the school as it is the student... a good student can prosper in any school.

 

I think the schools with a bad reputation (ie SSH and others) have that bad reputation based more on how they treat their students/employees and less with the quality of training.

 

The flight examiner I took my checkride from covers the whole northwest and he admitted that very few schools are teaching poorly, especially the bigger schools... they know what to do to get their students to pass.

 

If a potential employeer has such a huge chip on his shoulder because of where you did your training it is not the end of the world like you make it sound... there are other jobs.

 

experience, experience, experience in this industry

 

I am not saying there are a lot of "bad" school out there. What I am saying is that if you go to a school that has a bad reputation and you know about it, it might be the small thing that sets you apart from the other prospective pilots for a position. Don't get me wrong, i know a lot of schools are turning out good pilots and all, but the reputation of the school to put out good pilots is something to consider. All school teach differently, I have learned that for sure. I agree that it weighs a lot on the student but if you have a school that is teaching the bare bones and knows what the examiner is going to ask (from previous rides) then they concentrate on that and leave other stuff out or not focus as much on it, then the schools quality of instruction is to blame, not the student ability.

I know it's not the end of the world if your potential employer doesn't like the school you trained at but it sure helps to not have that to deal with when gunning for a job you may REALLY want.