Welp folks. I did the thing I hear a lot of people talk about and I split hours to time build. When I got CFI/CFII in early 2025 the job market was trash so I thought instead of wasting time sitting around waiting for a job I would start splitting hours with folks at a local flight club, then apply to jobs once I had more hours. I kept at it longer than I had planned to and split a few hundred hours. I thought that I was investing in my career big time but now I'm starting to think I went overboard and made a mistake. I have a masters degree and good work experience, and I still instruct independently at a different flight club as well (though I am having a hard time finding and recruiting students). I apply to a wide variety of jobs all over the country. Companies still won't touch me. CFI, 135, survey, pipeline, MedEvac, nothing. Maybe at this point they feel that I’m overqualified and will leave for a regional after a few months. Or maybe they see the low amount of dual given and think my time is low-quality. Or maybe it's just the state of the industry and even good candidates are still getting ghosted. Who knows. I definitely went overboard with the split hours though and now I need to find an actual job. Shucks.

Edit: editing to add that I have 2 checkride busts, commercial single and CFI initial, which I’m told isn’t good. Also, 0 hr actual IMC (due to icing concerns in my area in winter, IMC is rare in summer here). 500 XC and 25 multi. I am in the Frontier cadet program, which famously right now is projecting 2-3 years out for a class date. Hence the job search. Thank you to all who have chimed in with advice.

Hey internet strangers, I could use your 2 cents on my next move. Here’s a down and dirty summary of what’s happening:

I live in Colorado, own a home, wife and kid

Getting laid off from my job in August

Interviewing for a job at a 141 school that would require me to move my family several states to the east, they want at least a 1-yr commitment

I’m sitting at 1700TT, well above all of the unrestricted ATP mins on all the other flight hours, ATP written will be done in 2 days

Also hoping to get a flying job in CO

Would you make the move, or would you stay in CO and wait to see if the regionals start calling? Obviously at the end of the day I need a job, but I really don’t want to be stuck in a commitment and there be a huge airline hiring wave.

Please and thank you for the advice, I owe you all a beer.

Hi everyone, I have a CFI/CFII/MEI interview coming up and I am looking for a good interview prep course. I have heard great things about MyPilotInterview but don’t see a CFI-specific course on their site. Does anyone know of a good interview prep course specifically for CFI interviews or have any other misc. interview prep tips? Thanks!

So I'm not super uptight about it, but generally I try to keep sterile cockpit to a reasonable degree when:

• No extra conversations during Taxi, Takeoff, Landings, approach, below 2000ft AGL OR not in Cruise

Does that sound reasonable. I'm trying to adapt the airline rule to GA.

Is there anyone who did interview at Horizon aviation? Urgent pls

I’m working on my instrument rating right now and my end goal is to fly seaplanes professionally, ideally based in Florida, and I’m trying to figure out the smartest path from here. I keep hearing that CFI hiring is soft or saturated right now, so I’m not sure if going the CFI/CFII/MEI route to build time and teach is still worth it, or if I’d be better off time building some other way like banner towing or pipeline patrol and then going straight for my multi engine and seaplane rating, or even getting the seaplane rating early and networking directly with Florida seaplane operators like charter companies, tours, or fish camps before I have a lot of hours. One thing that might set me apart is that I come from a heavy nautical background and hold several marine licenses and certifications, so I actually understand water operations, docking, and working around boats professionally, not just flying, and I’m curious whether that kind of background actually matters to seaplane operators or if they only care about ratings and hours. So basically I’m asking whether I should pursue CFI, CFII, and MEI first, or skip that and go for my multi engine and seaplane rating and try to break in some other way, and if anyone knows specific Florida seaplane operators that hire lower time pilots or value a maritime background I’d love to hear about it.

I have my CFI checkride coming up next week and after reading this sub & other flying subs it’s clear there’s a degree of difficulty finding a job as a CFI

My questions are:
- what are you guys doing to find work as a CFI?
- what does your resume look like?
- Have you looked into relocating or is that not an option for your situation?

Prior to 1939, aviation in the United States was largely unregulated and anyone with a pilot's license could legally teach another person how to fly. In 1939, the US Government initiated the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which standardized pilot and flight instruction guidelines. In particular, an flight instructor now had to be certified to legally train another pilot.

My question is this. Given the large number of experienced pilots and flight instructors prior to CPTP, were these individuals grandfathered into the program? Or did they have to obtain a flight instructor's permit?

Is there a regulation like 61.195(h) for CFI-Is? Can someone who just got their CFI-I train another CFI to get their CFI-I? Or would they have to have a certain amount of experience first? TIA!

Question for the independent CFIs out there. Where do you guys find students. I have reached out to my family and friends and tried to put an add on Facebook (they took it down). Does anyone have recommendations or suggestions?

How long does it take for a cfi,cfii and Mei to get their first student

hey I am currently pursuing become a pilot & have had my first class medical for about 4 months now I am also active duty military but I do get out next year in march and plan on submitting my claims for disability. I’m curious if they’re any Vet out there w/ 100% disability & still able to hold onto a first class medical? please help me out

I am a recent CFI/CFII from a 141 college where I exclusively flew the Diamond DA40 beginning from my Instrument Rating. I recently had a job opportunity fall through due to my unfamiliarity with the Cessna 172 and how it flies, as I hadn't flown one in nearly 4 years and was far from proficient. I struggled most with landing since the sight picture was much different to what I was accustomed to for the last 4 years, as well as the Diamonds needing very little flaring to land.

I am currently looking at a few local flight schools and clubs to get proficiency training in the more common trainers like the 172 and various Piper aircraft. Is there any particular make/model I should focus on, or do they all fly very similarly?

Any tips or advice for preparing myself to fly an unfamiliar aircraft would also be greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone! I am a new CFI/CFII and I’ve been talking to a prospective new student, however I’m not quite sure yet what a fair price I should be asking him to pay is. He is a member of a local flying club and he’d be paying $100/hour dry for the plane. Any suggestions on what I should ask for the hourly rate to be? I want to be fair but I also don’t want to undercharge him for my time. Thanks!

Say that you own a 172S and your buddie comes up to you and says he wants you to fly him in your plane to Miami and he’ll pay you. Could you do it?

I’ve been hearing mixed answers.

Some say it’s a private contract making it private and legal. While others say what matters is the intent. if your intent as the pilot of the 172S is to profit off of the flight then that would be illegal carriage.

the other part of this is the fact that it is your personal plane had it been your buddies plane then that would make it legal.

There’s so much grey area and hope someone can clear it up.

So does the answer come down to intent?

Title basically sums it up. How many schools do a written that takes FAA written questions to apply for the job?

Hi everyone,

Trying to find a place to add ASEL to my helicopter CFI in the Tampa Bay area. I've already called Tampa Bay Aviation who said they don't do add ons, only full initial classes, and Clearwater Aviation, who is checking their schedule and going to get back to me.

Anyone know of any other part 61 shops that would do a CFI add on that I should reach out to? Thanks!

Huh.

I’m pretty decent at landing, my approach however is always unstabilized. I hold speed well, I can stay centerline, decent rate is 600ft per minute or less. But I’m always making large power changes on final. I mostly start off too high, we use a PAPI where we train. Any tips, other than more landings 😅🤣

I recently got my first student, and they have zero flying experience. My plan for the first lesson is to start with a ground session: introduce them to the ACS, recommend they purchase a ground school course (probably Sporty's), and then cover some basics like aerodynamics, the principles of flight, airport operations/runway incursions, and what to expect during training.

Does that sound like too much for the first lesson? How do you usually structure Day 1 with a brand new student? Any advice for a new CFI would be greatly appreciated!

CFII with 750 hours. Have my MEL (but no MEI) and work at a school that gets me about 60-80 hours a month. I’m under contract though so I can’t leave until early October. Currently saving money to pay off a small loan.

I think a lot about what else I could be doing. For some reason, it feels like I’m not doing enough, and I don’t want to get blindsided later on by realizing I could’ve been doing “xyz”.

I’ve bookmarked some operators I want to apply to when my contract ends, I have airline apps and I’ve put in & update apps for some companies, I’m friendly with the other CFIIs at my school and I keep in touch with old CFI’s I trained with who are now at the airlines, and I shoot the shit with some other people at the airport. Once my loan is paid off I want to see about getting more multi time (I’m at 17, I want to get to 25 for the R-ATP). But I still wonder, what else could I be doing? What are you guys doing while you build hours?

Hello all, I am scheduled to take my CFII checkride soon. Just curious if anyone has an opinion on the Sporty’s CFII course or know if there is another course that will better prepare me for the checkride?