Am I crazy?

[dkf1979]

I'm a 25 year old high school grad who ended up doing carpentry for a living. I hate my job. I'm getting paid poor money to go do an extremely unfulling duty. Am I crazy to think I could quit my job and finance $30,000 on a CFI quickstart program? I'm thinking I could work a part-time job to survive the 7 estimated months to become a certified flight instructor? To which I'm "gauranteed" a position in which their "committed instructors make around $30,000 a year"?

If I were to choose a career which would truely, passionately make me happy. It would have to be being a pilot. $30,000 a year isn't much. But it's not much less than what i'm making now, with my ho-hum job.

What are my chances of eventually making 50 or 60,000 a year? With no advanced education?

Could I make it?

[kellwolf]

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To which I'm "gauranteed" a position in which their "committed instructors make around $30,000 a year"?

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You're not crazy, and it IS possible to finance that amount and survive. The key being survive, not live well. I'd also be weary of ANY program that offered the above. Nothing is guaranteed, and I tend to shy away from things that scream money right off the bat. Sounds too much like a glossy flight school add. If you find out in your research that it's legit, I say go for it if your finances allow. Just keep in mind that for every 3 days you love flying, you'll probably have that 1 day you wanna give it all up. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Andrew415]

Actually most CFI's I've talked to just make around 15 thousand a year if that. You should try to get a degree tho, weather it be online or in class it will really help you out in the long run. With no post-secondary education regionals would be the only place you would end up and stay. Unless you wanna do corporate and that stuff but a degree always looks better.

[kellwolf]

I second the degree suggestion. After you get the ratings, look into some of the on-line aviation stuff that gives you credit for your ratings. It's better to get a degree in something else to fall back on, but if you have NO college at all, it might be cheaper this way. Either that, or try to at least get into a local community college or a state school. I'd suggest looking into Embry-Riddle's distance learning, but it's a tad on the expensive side.....

[Doug Taylor]

Get a degree.

Where's that guaranteed $30k/year CFI job? Guarantees and aviation are two mutually exclusive terms! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Think of it this way. Every Tom, Dick and Harry has a commercial certificate. A good percentage of them don't have degrees. The available jobs that you can raise a family on are very competitive.

[dkf1979]

As far as I can find out this school is supposed to be legit. I only know one pilot to question it about. And he actually got some of his ratings from there. It's Langa Air .
They do offer some degree programs also.
" For those interested in earning a college degree, we recommend that you wait until after you finish the CFI Quickstart program before you enroll in our Global Aviation Degree Program."
Has anyone heard of this flight school? What do you all think of what they advertise on their webpage?

[USMCmech]

Yes you're crazy! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/insane.gif[/img]

But so are the rest of us. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]


Regarding this particular school, I've never heard of them. It seems like they are fairly new.

The thing that worries me is their garuentee of job placement. No school can keep this promise, so it's a red flag in my opinoin.

The other major red flag is any school that want's to be paid for the entire course up front. A major school in florida went out of buisness two years ago and left their students holding the bill (ATA).

You should be able to work part time and fly fairly frequently if you go with this school. Financeing the money for flying, and working part time to cover living expenses. After a minimum of 6 months (a year is far more likely) you will be done with your CFI. When you get your CFI, you'll still likely have to work a second job to pay bills for 1-2 years.

It's a rough road, but I belive it's worth it. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[dkf1979]

According to their website, "Since 1990, our flight training business has grown utilizing Cessna aircraft and today we operate the largest fleet of new Cessna's in the Midwest."
So they made it past the first initial years.
" langaAir currently boasts 100% placement for those individuals who have went through our complete "turn-key" program. Let us help you be the next."

[kellwolf]

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Since 1990, our flight training business has grown utilizing Cessna aircraft and today we operate the largest fleet of new Cessna's in the Midwest."
So they made it past the first initial years.

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Maybe, maybe not. There are a lot of management people that will buy an established FBO that had like one or two Cessnas, then boast the fact that they've been around fifteen years. Or vice-versa. There are some management that have run six or seven flight schools into the ground in fifteen years.

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langaAir currently boasts 100% placement for those individuals who have went through our complete "turn-key" program. Let us help you be the next.

[/ QUOTE ]

Double red flag for me. 100% placement is a near impossibility in the aviation world. Even MAPD only has a 98%. The "let us help you be the next" screams glossy flight school ad. Not slamming on the school, just making the point that in aviation, if it sounds too good to be true, you should probably run the other way.

[Doug Taylor]

Even that 98% thing. Is it 98% of the people that started the program or just 98% of people that stayed with the program, then went thru ANOTHER program and survived an interview process and 98% of THOSE guys made it?

Gotta be very careful when it comes to statistics.

[kellwolf]

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Even that 98% thing. Is it 98% of the people that started the program or just 98% of people that stayed with the program, then went thru ANOTHER program and survived an interview process and 98% of THOSE guys made it?


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I'm pretty sure it's 98% of the people that finished the whole program. I know not everyone that starts will finish, and with the current state of United and US Air, odds are I'm not even going to start. Now, you wanna talk Delta Connection Academy's 99% hire rate, then it gets REALLY crooked.

[I_WANNA_BE_ATP]

I also changed careers. If flying is your passion then make it happen. FLY. You have a career in which should you not make it as a CFI or have a period of poor income you can back up your salary. For me, I can always snap a couple Xrays of some one, hell, I kinda do it in my sleep as it is now. I also agree about getting a degree. That is my next step. I'm looking into Riddle's online degree program.

[farwellbooth]

Have you ever flown a plane? Before you think about quitting your job get your pilot's cert. while you're working and see if you even like it.

Not trying to discourage you but what do you think about advancing your "carpentry"? Maybe do some general contracting and build some houses? Down the road build some "communities" and buy your self a sea plane...

[adreamer]

Before quit your day job. find a local FBO and get intro flight see wether you like the flying or not.

[montanapilot]

careful about the Langa place. They run a PFT (pay for a job/pay for time) operation also. http://www.langaair.com/firstofficerfasttrack.pdf

PFT is da Devil!

I would suggest getting your private license to see if its right for your first before makin any drastic decisions.

[av8trxx]

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Before quit your day job, find a local FBO and get intro flight see wether you like the flying or not.

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Totally! And your Instrument rating too. Doing this for a job can be like having 5 instrument lessons in a day. It's a cool job, but many see it as they dream about it, not the reality of the daily grind. See if you like it first. Then you can decide if you want to go all the way without risking so much money. If not, you still have what it takes to fly for a hobby to get away from it all.

[wheelsup]

I like this part:

Langa Air Academy's instructors earn significantly higher compensation than the industry average. In fact, full time, committed instructors can earn over $30,000 per year.**


** Based on our compensation plan and considering additional incentives, CFI's with Langa Air Academy can earn in excess of $30,000 per year annualized compensation. Langa Air Academy makes no guarantees or warranties that every individual will make that amount. This income level is possible for the most dedicated individuals.

So what they're saying is if you do everything at the school, eat, sleep, shower, etc. you'll have the POTENTIAL to answer the phone and get students.

I'm guessing what they're doing is taking the hourly rate and multiplying it by 40 hours a week, 4 weeks a month, etc. When in fact if you want to bill 40 hours a week, you're probably at the airport more like 70-80 hours a week.

Even at the place I'm at, I work 7 hours a day billable for 8-9 hour scheduled days and I only bring in ~ $28,000/yr instructing, and this is at a place that furnishes my students for me. And this is the first flight school I've heard of that allows for that - and I've been around the block...

~wheelsup

[Dazzler]

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CFI's with Langa Air Academy can earn in excess of $30,000 per year annualized compensation


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The key word here is ANNUALIZED - don't walk, run.

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Now, you wanna talk Delta Connection Academy's 99% hire rate, then it gets REALLY crooked.


[/ QUOTE ]

Why's that then? Please explain !

[JaceTheAce]

I'd recommend going through an online aviation degree program - Utah Valley State College has one. I don't know too much about it, but you can always begin studying at your local community college and get your general education coarses out of the way.

As for your flight training, well either do that on your own with a non-aviation degree (which I highly recommend) or attend a University like University of North Dakota and get your flight training done there with a Business degree in Aviation Management.

You are still young enough to fulfill your aviation dream - do it!

[aviategw]

Nah, you are not crazy.

However, there is no regulation that says that you have to mortgage everything to make this happen. My suggestion would be to slow down. Pay for your certificates as you go. Work two jobs if necessary. You can fly, but you don't have to put yourself in a place where not flying ruins your financial life.

Get your private certificate and look into the Civil Air Patrol. This is a good way to get relatively cheap flight time, and if you play your cards right, the ability to earn your certificates for much, much less than if you went through a local FBO or a flight academy.

If this is really what you want, just don't give up.

[winner]

Crazy is being 48 years old and wanting to do it, NOW THATS CRAZY