Should I stay or should I go?
vossdr1 said:
All of you flight instructors: Would you take a pay cut (from, say $45,000 to $21,000) if you thought it would further your career (flying right seat in a King Air, or PIC in a cargo twin)?
A simple yes or no please . . . .
Pilots have been confronted with this issue forever. The answer used to be simple when aviation was doing better, e.g., commuter captains who give up pay to join the majors. These days, the answer is not as simple as it might appear.
A lot would depend on the job. If your decision entails giving up $24K plus benies, and the benefits include such things as health insurance, probably not. You also have to consider the current hiring times. Review of the interview board indicates that though some airlines are hiring, times still aren't flush, and you might find yourself in this new job, at less pay, for longer than you had planned. How long can you afford to stay in the job? Might you get a pay raise? Finally, how much does the job in question comport with your goals? It had better comport with them well if you are giving up $24K a year for it.
[H]ow much money would you have to make to stay a career flight instructor-never leave flight instruction (not necessarily the institution at which you are now employed)?
I, personally, never entered aviation for the money, or lack thereof. My only concern was making enough money to be comfortable and to pay my bills. I instructed at ERAU and, for a time, was a stage check pilot. I was paid a salary that was comparable to commuter captain pay of the day. Considering that at that time I was making more money as a pilot than I ever did in nineteen years in broadcasting, I was delighted. To this day, I tell people that my first instructing job, at ERAU, was my best aviation job.
I gather from the tone of your comments that you are making decent money as a flight instructor and might also enjoy it. Therefore, given aviation's uncertainties, why leave something that pays well and might be enjoyable for something that's less sure?
Hope that assists your thinking.