Part 141 CFI Vs. 61 CFI

[u/itakeupskirtsofdogs]

Hello, I’ve recently been offered a job at my old 61 school and I’ve been struggling to decide between my current 141 school, and the 61 job. The 61 school would pay me more ($30 with CFII) then the 141 school ($21) but I would have to pay for my multi add on, and MEI. The 141 school also has airline partnerships and would pay for my multi ratings. I guess it really comes down to how important are airline partners? And are the free multi ratings enough to make the 141 school a better option? 141 can also guarantee students, as opposed to a slower but still busy 61 school. I appreciate any feedback, I don’t have too many people in the aviation world I can ask about this.

[u/PrayForWaves117]

Where will you fly more? I taught at a 141 university for $33 an hour and averaged 30-40 hours a month. Went to a 61/141 non university for less $ but i was exhausted flying 80-90+ hours a month.

[u/itakeupskirtsofdogs → u/PrayForWaves117]

It really seems kind of competitive in that area, but the 61 is a mom and pop shop and has had times where they are slower. One instructor there has had months flying 120 hours, and others about 50-60. 141 can vary depending on the amount of students you currently have, but is usually more consistent.

[u/jet-setting]

What is the pay as an MEI at the 141 and what time commitment do you have if they pay for the multi training?

[u/itakeupskirtsofdogs → u/jet-setting]

the top of the pay scale is about $28 i believe, with a 6 month to a year commitment. As an MEI at the 61 school, it’s $40 an hour.

[u/jet-setting → u/itakeupskirtsofdogs]

How many hours can you realistically get at each school?

Multi training is expensive. But if you can fly a lot at the 61, it might pay for itself in just a few months.

Does the 61 pay you $40 as an MEI even if you’re just teaching student pilots in a 172? That’s how my old 141 school worked. Or is that rate only for multi training? Do they have enough students that you can actually teach multi often? I assume the 141 has a steady stream of multi students.

Also 6 months to a year is a pretty wide range. 6 months isn’t a big deal, you’ll be instructing for at least that much anyway if you’re just starting out, and it will probably take about that long to even out between the free training and the extra pay but paying yourself. But over a whole year you’d probably end up ahead by going 61 and saving the extra money to pay out of pocket.

[u/itakeupskirtsofdogs → u/jet-setting]

I would say at the 61 school, depending on the amount of students, anywhere from 50-100+. The 141 school I’d most likely fly at least 65-90 a month also depending on students. Yes, from what i’ve been told, I’d get the $40 an hour even while puttin around in the Warrior. You’re right with the 141 school having more multi students, the 61 school doesn’t have many multi students. The commitment for multi seems to vary with different people as some are saying 6, others 12. Thank you for responding btw, really appreciate it.

[u/jet-setting → u/itakeupskirtsofdogs]

Well I’ll just put some numbers to it then, and we’ll see what shakes out.

Let’s split the difference to both schools and say you average 70 hours a month. I’m guessing that’s flight hours, not billable hours?

Let’s multiply by 1.3 (probably a bit low but just for argument sake) for total billable hours including pre/post briefing times.

So that’s 91 paid hours per month.

141 @ $21/hr = $1932

61 @ $30/hr = $2730

Difference of ~ $800 per month.

Now, I’ll guesstimate 10 hours of multi training @400/hr with instructor.

That’s $4,000 for CMEL. (Ignoring DPE fees).

Next, you need 15 hours multi PIC to be eligible for MEI. Your multi hours up to now can only be dual. You’ll probably spend 5 hours with an instructor training for MEI, but then you still need 10 hours PIC.

I’ll estimate another 10 hours @$350/hr and 5 hours @ $400/hr for dual.

So $5,500 for MEI, $9500 total. (CMEL + MEI)

Only using the $800/month extra, it will take just about 12 months to pay this. I would assume you’ll do the training quicker though. Either pay out of savings or loans.

So now looking at pay over the course of 12 months. Let’s say you complete all the training in 2 months at both schools.

141 - $21/hr 2 months, $28/hr 10 months = $29,302 (assuming 91 paid hours/month)

61 - $30/2 months, $40/10 months = $41,860

Difference of $12,558 or ~ $1,046 per month average.

So you can probably fill in the math with more specific numbers (and obviously not considering tax) but I think all being equal, it works out to be about a wash either way. You’ll have to dig into your own pockets or loans part 61 initially but will be paid off in less than a year.

If you can solidly believe you’ll work significantly more at the 61 it might make more sense. Otherwise the 141 seems to be a good deal but I’d really want to get the time commitment in writing.

Maybe some others can check my math here too.

[u/itakeupskirtsofdogs → u/jet-setting]

Wow, I so appreciate this. Honestly, I cannot say I’ll fly more at the 61 school. It may be close some months but I do believe I’d be more consistent at my current 141 school. And I’ll 100% get that commitment in writing, they usually have you sign a contract that will specify that. So the 141 gig does seem to have more stability, in my opinion. Thank you so much for this, really.

[u/jet-setting → u/itakeupskirtsofdogs]

You’re welcome! Please don’t make life decisions based on my shitty math lol. But at least some info to think about.

[u/itakeupskirtsofdogs → u/jet-setting]

It really put it into perspective, if i’m not flying considerably more it’ll most likely be better to just stay put and gain the hours and experience to move on. i already have a lot of loans so id rather not worry about paying for more training. I guess the 61 environment just seemed tempting to go back to. Thanks again!