Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Who enjoys being a ‘career’ , ”permanent’ flight instructor and do you love what you do?

Asked by: 4843 views Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor, General Aviation, Light Sport Aircraft

I would like to hear from other permanent career flight instructors on how much do you enjoy what you do and does it give you the satisfaction as  a professional aviator?  I am a 45 year old flight instructor without a flight instructor job in Ontario, Canada and it is frustrating for me to see that I can't find employment in a field that I love.  I love to teach, but it is frustrating that so far no one will give me a chance to do what I want to do on a permanent basis and not just a stepping stone.  I always thought that flight schools would love to have a guy like me that wants to be there permanently.

 

Any stories would be great.

thanks

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers



  1. n on Dec 16, 2011

    I don’t know if I would consider myself a permanent anything in aviation, however I really enjoy teaching folks how to fly. As for the career aspect, most of the other flying that I do is seasonal, thus in the off season CFIing is a great way to spend ones time.

    From reading your post, I don’t understand how you can’t get a job! Are you willing to relocate? One thing about this gig is no matter where I go I seem to be able to get a job really easily.

    +2 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Earl Kessler on Dec 17, 2011

    My favorite thing in aviation is flight instructing. Due to constraints in the economy in one of the hardest hit states in the nation, I have accepted a job as a paid pilot for a private organization that owns a 10 passenger plane. In addition, I broker airplanes for sellers from time to time. These activities help support me in my favorite endeavor, flight instruction. Unfortunately, I don’t see flight instructing as a way to make a steady income without augmenting it with other income producing activities. You might consider either moving to a larger area that has more population that will support you in your chosen field, or branching out in other aviation related activities, such as ground instruction, airplane maintenance, detailing, or airplane management, all items that can be done when the weather doesn’t dictate or attract students. It will keep you around aviation and afford opportunities to teach that you might not otherwise realize if you have to take a non-aviation related opportunity.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 1 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.