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Neutral:
- I have a part time job right now that pays about 2x what I would get if I was a part time CFI at my school
Thanks in advance for any replies!
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I would go with the ME rating first, for the following reasons:
1. Turbine time is turbine time. 2 hours in a Merlin is better than nothing, just be sure you know your systems.
2. Save yourself a checkride. You can do your initial instructor as a CFII in a single, and then add on the MEI rating. A bit of a switcharoo on the old CFI, then CFII, then MEI routine.
3. (The most important one) MEIIs are more marketable than CFIs. Most guys that start CFIing with no II or MEI never wind up getting them because, hey, it's hard enough to pay rent, let alone shell out 1200-1600 dolars for a couple of new ratings. Get all your training done (and I recommend not stopping till you've got your CFII-MEI) and then start pounding pavement for a CFI job at a school with a few twins. In other words, you might start getting paid to fly now, but it's the ME dual given that's going to really pay off in the long run. So do it all now, while you can still stomach student loans.
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1. Low time pilots with SIC in a turboprop aircraft will hurt in
some cases . Even high performance twins. One guy I work with went to America Eagle with several hours of SIC time in a Cheyenne. It came up in the interview and it ended up ALL they talked about during the interview. He didn't get invited back. Now, some of you will say you can't do SIC in a Cheyenne because its single pilot. Guess what, SO IS A MERLIN (provided it has autopilot)! I agree about knowing systems, but let's be honest. A guy with 2 hours SIC in a single-pilot aircraft...? Maybe I'm off base here but I know ExpressJet and Eagle both look at those things - and I'm sure other carriers do too. Some don't care.
2. I would do the CFI first. You can immediately get into instructing and the opportunities are much better for the CFI than CFII. When I was instructing at a non-aviation school I did maybe 5 or so IFR flights (including BFR's) in a 10 month period. Others may have better luck, but its been my experience that most time is spent VFR with student pilots...which you can't teach initially as a CFII/MEI (unless their doing their MEL intital, there's a goldmine for an MEI!).
3. Not sure what an MEII is. MEI - multi engine instructor. CFI-I is instrument instructor (for singles and twins). I don't *believe* there is such a thing as an MEII? I agree with the rest of your statement, get your CFI/I all in one and possibly even the MEI. The only word of caution I'll say to that is that if the competition is high, then having done a rating at a school will give you the edge (if you plan to instruct somewhere else). I did my MEI at a 61 school that was practically impossible to get into (last guy hired off the street waited 6+ months!) and having done my MEI there I flew with the Chief Instructor, brown-nosed a bit, showed him what I knew, pestered him a bit for a week, and wound up with a job. Also, like CapnJim says - GO TO A SCHOOL WITH TWINS AND A LOT OF 'EM! The school I was at people ended up with 2 seneca's but they never really flew. Try to go to a 141 aviation school, you'll get your twin time guranteed that way. Some people have done it the other way, free-lance or 61, but it's been my experience (and I wish I knew it when I was looking for jobs intially) that when you go to a 141 aviation school
you'll get your twin time without much risk of not getting it. Part 61 you could end up flying a 340 for a student, or might not, and end up with 2000+ hours and 12 multi (like some guys at my first school had). Upgrade time at the 141 aviation schools is normally based on seniority - i.e. get in and get senority so that you can get in the twin quicker. For me it was about minimizing risk (I'm bad at the stock market
).
It's time to start making some sacrifices if they can be made. Earning twice as much now won't buy hardly any time at all in an a/c, and if you start instructing right off you'll be getting your TT built up, which is worth its weight in gold. And if you go to an aviation school with a program (sounds like you do) you'll have senority when it comes time to get in the twin and you'll get into it sooner rather than waiting for the time to come.
Anyway good luck. See what fits your lifestyle the best and then choose the best course of action based on that. Not everyone needs to do the same route - you might have different needs.
~wheelsup