To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. ATP, the company I paid A LOT of money to learn how to fly offers a guaranteed job if you complete the Airline Career Pilot Program. Well, I completed it. What I knew was that I had to attend their instructor standardization course in Jacksonville, Florida for two weeks. Unfortunately, that course is backed up. My friend who finished two weeks before I did got the last spot in February and they told him if he couldn't get in the course in February, it would be March. So, my best guess would that I wouldn't be going through that course until late March into April.
To me, waiting around that long is completely unacceptable. From what I have been hearing and from the response to the few feelers I put out told me that flight instructors are in demand. Why should I wait around for 2-3 months to start what I can do elsewhere? Even more frustrating is the course itself. It probably doesn't need to take 2 weeks to complete the course. When you aren't flying or sitting in class, you are manning the call center; making phone calls to prospective students (customers) or answering incoming inquiries. While this opportunity MIGHT eventually create the best flight time in terms of quantity and quality, I very much wanted to look for other jobs. From all the things I'd seen from my short time at ATP, unless it was my only option, I did not want to work for them.
So, I hit the job boards. I knew there were people looking for flight instructors. There were a few things I had to consider when looking for a job. First, type of flight school. While it would have been nice to stay in Tampa, besides ATP, there weren't any flight schools with the quantity of students that would allow me to amass enough flight time to make the relatively low pay worth while. Also, the faster I accumulate time, the faster I can move up in the world. From all the people I've talked to, I need at least 500 hours to be insurable by larger aviation operations like airlines or cargo or even drop zones. Right now, I have 235. Obviously, the more students a flight school has, the more flight time I'll get.
The other big thing I had to look at was location. I had an opportunity to go and work in Cleveland at a flight school there. It would be been good to be close to home but there was one big hurdle. The weather. After talking to the Chief Flight Instructor, she told me that they don't do a lot of flying in the winter because of the bad weather. In the spring, summer, and fall, they are very busy but right now I wouldn't get a whole lot of hours. So, I had to stick with a warm weather state.
After shooting out a BUNCH of resumes to various companies, I had several people show interest. There were a few in Maryland, a few in Ohio, and one in Florida. The Florida company asked if I would come out to their facility near Daytona Beach for an interview. On Monday, I went out to the flight school for my interview. When I arrived, I filled out an application and when I was finished, was handed a 25 question test. As I was taking it, I was fairly confident on a majority of the answers but there were still a few that I wasn't 100% sure about. How embarrassing to fail a test in my first interview so close to my instructor check rides to fail a test. After I handed in the test, I met with the Assistant Chief Flight Instructor for an interview. We talked a little about my history and then jumped in talking about approach plates, fundamentals of flight, and ground reference maneuvers.
After a little while, we left and went over to hop in the simulator where I flew an instrument approach and an unpublished missed approach procedure. That only took about 30 minutes and after it was complete, we went out to hop in the airplane for a flying interview. It was very similar to my CFI check ride I had taken the week prior. After over an hour flying around the skies of eastern Florida, we landed and walked back to his office.
He said down across from me and asked if I had any more questions. I asked some questions and then put the ball back in his court. He said, "Well, you only missed one question on your test, a question that no one ever gets right. I was very happy with your flying ability and am very impressed with your background. If you are interested, we would like to offer you a job."
WHAT?! I was shocked. I fully expected a "we'll be in touch" or "I have to confer with my boss and I'll give you a call when a decision is made." I know it doesn't mean much coming from someone who's never been offered a job, but I never expected to be offered a job on the spot. I asked if I could take the next few days to consider it. My motivation was two-fold. First, I didn't want to make a hasty decision. I wanted to look around a little more about the company before making a decision. Second, I was scheduled to meet with some people that were friends of Charlie or one of his pilot friends. While it wasn't an interview, I wanted to get a little thoughts on best paths to success from the corporate side of the house.
So, after my meetings last week, I made my decision. On Saturday, I called up and accepted the guy's offer. Next week, I am going to shadow an instructor for a few days and then go up and have the chief flight instructor teach me how they want some of the maneuvers to be taught. They have a ground school class ending Friday and would like me spun up by then. Wow. That's quick.
Now, I'm looking for a furnished apartment on the beach. As my uncle said, you're single, you're young and you may never be able to do this again. Why not look for a place within walking distance of the beach and living it up for a little while? Great question Charlie! Why not?!
I just can't believe I got a job so fast and one that will provide a decent amount of flight time and decent pay. So, I am very soon I will be paid to fly. Jackpot! I'll be sure to update you on my trials as a flight instructor. As one of my instructors said, "your students are going to have a million and one ways to try and kill you." Sign me up for that! Haha!
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