Quote:
Originally Posted by stl  I am contemplating switching fields from Math/Philosophy to Aviation (non-airline, preferably flight instructor) and was wondering if anyone could tell me the pros and cons of pursuing a career as a professional flight instructor.
I am thinking about going to a flight academy to get CFI ratings and am pretty sure I don't want to be an airline pilot. I will have to take a loan so any advice on this matter would also be helpful.
Also, what career growth (monetary and otherwise) can one expect after 5 to 10 years as CFI. |
Pros:
Flexible schedule
Wide variety of planes to fly, usually
Develop a personal relationship with a lot of interesting people
Home almost every night
See interesting places like small town airports, big cities, and everywhere in between. A lot more variety than airline flying.
Good pay if you do it right
Cons:
Can be hard to get established unless you live in one area for a long time and have a lot of flight experience.
Long hours--a lot of times you're working when other people aren't, i.e. nights/weekends
Ultimately the job is about teaching as much if not more than flying. You need to enjoy teaching as much as you do flying. That takes a certain personality.
No free travel benefits like airline pilots.
If you like to move around, it's hard as a pro CFI, because you have to stay in one area long enough to develop a good reputation. You can't pick up and start all over again in a new city every few years.
Pay is all over the board. Starting out it could be as low as $20k/year. After 5-10 years of doing it, if you've built up a reputation as a top notch instructor who is qualified to teach in nice aircraft, you could make anywhere from $40k-$100k/year. There are a ton of variables that play in to it after that long.