Move to KHPN as a bridge?

[mcdavi02]

Hey all, I'm contemplating relocating to the White plains area (KHPN) as a result of a job offer in that area, in my current non aviation job field. My goal is to transition to aviation full time, however I am still in a good amout of debt so am somewhat dependent on a (paying) job. My thought is to take this new (non-aviation) job down by the city where I would be making apx 85K/yr, and flight instruct at KHPN on nights and weekends to build time and experience. I'm leaving my current job within the next 4-6 months and my altenative is to jump straight into aviation by going to ATP or ARI and instructing full time. Any thoughts?

[BobDDuck]

Not really related to your current situation... but god I hate HPN. That is by far one of the craziest airports to run 121 operations out of. It's like a cruise ship dock in there.

[mcdavi02]

So do you think this would be a worthwhile place to put myself for a year or so in terms of flight instructing? If HPN turns out to be a bad place overall in terms of my flying goals, then I really think that the better pay (from the day job) isn't worth it. The FBO I spoke with mentioned that they need CFIs, like everywhere these days, and that I could stay busy, but it might be better to just move straight into full time aviation sooner than later if that is my ultimate goal. It's the lure of the better pay that is even making me consider the move to downstate.

[Flying Ninja]

Lure of the better pay...hrm...have you looked at how much they pay CFI's? And have you figured out that CFI's get paid better than most regional airline first officers ranging from year 1 to year 3? I don't know how much you're making but you might want to do a little more research as to how much pilots get paid and how much they work, etc. You can hit up www.airlinepilotcentral.com for their detailed airline descriptions and their pay scales. Do the math before you move anywhere.

KHPN isn't that horrible. There's just a lot of jet traffic there and if you can fly out of there, you can fly out of anywhere in this country. It's a nice airport, well kept and centrally located to some interesting airports that you're going to enjoy flying to. The industry is hurting for CFIs right now and you can pretty much get a flight instructor job anywhere for the most part.

Since you mentioned debt, I hope you know that flight training isn't cheap. And if you fall for the wrong program like I did, you'll get no results except a HUGE debt to pay off at the end. Do your homework. If you don't have to get there right this moment, I'd advise against going to those pilot factories. They are expensive and your mileage may vary. Good luck!