Quote:
Originally Posted by BugSmasher 
It would benefit students if CFIing paid enough to become something more than a [b]three month[b] transitional period, but its an economic cycle and I understand why they leave. If I were in my CFI's shoes, I'd rather take advantage of a shortage that makes me a scarce resource than wait until a pilot oversupply cycle that leaves me poor and without options. |
Man, I feel old. I remember when I wrapped up in seven months, and that was miraculous at the time. Some guys are choosing to go to a bridge program rather than get the CFI ratings, so that's cutting the supply even further. My bet is that if CFI pay goes up (and it probably will), you might see flight training costs go up even more.
I think the greatest factor right now is the high cost of flight training. I know if I were getting into this game right now....I'd retire as a ramper at SWA. There's no way I could afford to pay for flight training on what the regionals are paying based on today's costs. Costs from 3 years ago....sure. Today? Nope. I hear some of the debt the JetU guys coming here are in and it boggles my mind how they make ends meet every month.....