Median salary for Flight Instructor (harrrrrrrrrrr)

[rumpletumbler]

http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/..._psr_495&s=salary&geocode=&jobcode=TR20000036

 

[wmuflyguy]

job description

Look at the definition of Flight instructor

[font=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Job Description[/font]
[font=verdana,arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Flight Instructor[/font]:[font=verdana,arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Instructs student pilots in flight procedures and techniques in ground school courses and flight training. Prepares lesson plans. Evaluates and monitors students performance. This position is typically is represented by a senior level pilot. The compensation data does NOT reflect salaries of flight instructors from smaller local flight schools who typically work on an hourly basis and consider the accumulation of airtime the highest priority in their respective careers. [/font]

 

[rumpletumbler]

You ruined it. Anyhow, no I didn't read that part.

 

[hindsight2020]

"The compensation data does NOT reflect salaries of flight instructors from smaller local flight schools who typically work on an hourly basis and consider the accumulation of airtime the highest priority in their respective careers"

....a beast of our making........

That aside, I love the condescending tone of the description, considering that in the way that it's phrased it excludes 95% of the people who actually hold the position LOL.

"Widget designer, 400K a year...oh but this doesn't reflect 99 out of 100 of those employed"

dipsh%ts....

 

[Fly_Chick]

[font=verdana,arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The median expected salary for a typical Flight Instructor in the United States is $78,511. [/font]Where are they getting this? Unless they are counting check pilots from the airlines?

"This position is typically is represented by a senior level pilot. The compensation data does NOT reflect salaries of flight instructors from smaller local flight schools who typically work on an hourly basis and consider the accumulation of airtime the highest priority in their respective careers. "

Are there larger flight schools with salaried instructors that make anywhere near this amount? And the national average... they obviously left out a huge conglomerate of cfi's that would bring this national average down...

 

[Clutch_Cargo]

Are there larger flight schools with salaried instructors that make anywhere near this amount? And the national average... they obviously left out a huge conglomerate of cfi's that would bring this national average down...

No way! I don't think most tenured professors teaching aviation at a university level make that kind of dough. If there are CFI jobs out there that pay like that then please let me know! I enjoyed being an instructor... just didn't enjoy starving.

I was thinking that maybe this would be FlightSafety/SimuFlite types but these numbers even sound high for them.

cc

 

[Flymach2]

Originally posted by Fly_Chick

Are there larger flight schools with salaried instructors that make anywhere near this amount?

The short answer is a resounding "yes"! As the disclaimer indicates, most in the field are there to build flight time to move on to other aspects of the industry. For those who choose to stay in teaching, the rewards are commensurate with their level(s) of expertise. Of course this isn't entry level pay either. Food for thought. Some may want to reconsider their pursuit of that 20k per year right seat RJ position.

Regards

 

[wheelsup]

For those who choose to stay in teaching, the rewards are commensurate with their level(s) of expertise. Of course this isn't entry level pay either. Food for thought. Some may want to reconsider their pursuit of that 20k per year right seat RJ position.

While I don't argue the point about pursuing the RJ f/o job, I'd wager to bet that most of the instructors making $70k and up are ex- or retired pilots that flew those aircraft in a previous life, and came up throught the ranks (possibly when upgrade was more like 1 year vs. 10 ). I had an instructor teach a 1900 course that had zero time in the plane and every question we asked was followed by "it's in the book". A great learning experience that was...

~wheelsup

(a GA CFI who makes $45k/yr)

 

[Clutch_Cargo]

For those who choose to stay in teaching, the rewards are commensurate with their level(s) of expertise. Of course this isn't entry level pay either. Food for thought. Some may want to reconsider their pursuit of that 20k per year right seat RJ position.

If you say there are jobs out there that pay that amount, I'm not going to doubt you... but could you share the name of one with us? I'm wondering if we are talking about the same thing... instructors teaching in GA, not FSI or SFI instructors, not instructors teaching in air transportation. I think it was HMR who said in another thread that he cleared had cleared 40k as instructor, which to most of us is amazing. Like I mentioned before, I know professors teaching aviation at major universities with 10, 15, even 20+ years experience that don't make that money so I find it hard to believe that there are many flight schools paying out like that. Just curious to know who does...

cc

 

[Flymach2]

Originally posted by Clutch_Cargo

If you say there are jobs out there that pay that amount, I'm not going to doubt you... but could you share the name of one with us?

Well, one that comes to mind immediately is KLS, (the training division for KLM). The instructors for them start at 40K. Again, these are not entry level positions and wheelsup was absolutely correct when he stipulated that the instructors commanding 40K+ are experienced in their respective fields. Another facility that comes to mind is SimCom. The companies are out there for these careers. The experience, professionalism, and dedication to teaching that is brought to the table will be reflected in the salary.

Regards