� Q: Where are the best locations to start as a flight instructor and build experience? How am I able to get a job without having to move?—Julian from Omaha
� A: Julian, you have a two-part question that deserves a bit of elaboration.
Frankly, the best place to start as a flight instructor is with the school that provided all of your initial training. This is a common practice in the industry. Whether you attend a large aviation college such as Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a small school like Hesston College in Kansas, or an academy like ATP, these training institutions typically provide employment for top graduates. That’s not to say that every graduate gets the job as an instructor. I favor CFI work with formal aviation schools where you instruct every day rather than a local FAR Part 61 school where you could be doing a lot of waiting for that next potential student to walk through the door.
Here is another tactic to try. You might want to save those last flight instructor ratings for a training enterprise that could be willing to offer you a job. You will gladly spend that $2,000 for the multiengine-instrument rating with them if there is a job waiting.
There are other considerations. At campuses in Florida and the Southwest, there are lots of great flying days with plenty of sunshine and mostly favorable flying conditions. The trainees in Phoenix and Daytona Beach fly almost every day. On the other hand, if you train at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks or at Northwest Michigan College in Traverse City, Michigan, you will get a boatload of actual IFR, howling winds, sub-zero temperatures, and potential icing: real-world stuff. On those really ugly days when nobody is flying, you can still continue training in simulators and flight training devices.
Getting experience and ultimately an airline job without moving? Not much of a chance. Certainly, there are great schools in virtually every state. The University of Nebraska-Omaha has a fine program right in your neighborhood.
Mobility is a key strategy in getting a job in this labor market. Think carefully about your career path. If you absolutely need stability in your lifestyle, there could be better choices.
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