Expert: David A. NewMyer - 7/28/2008

Question
HI, my name is Joseph 33 years old and very close to get my CPL and my CFI, I have two questions I would like to see your opinion, what is better to get hired by a regional with 300TT or try to build up some hours with the CFI? and do you know about the conversion to JAA I'm usa resident but also an european citizen and I would like some day to try the JAA for a major in Europe is that too hard?? Im also looking for a college degree once I start building up hours ,  is my age good to think about this? THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE.

Answer
Hi, Joseph:

Thank you for your question, I will try to assist!

First of all, the question about gaining experience as a CFI is a good one.  The answer is that it depends a bit on the job market and WHO will hire you as a regional airline pilot (and whether or not you will be ready for that leap into a regional cockpit).  In the end, only you can decide that.  IF the CFI experience that you will be getting is a good experience where you will deal with all kinds of students (Instrument students, especially), then, it will help sharpen your skills for later application in the regional airline cockpit.  That sort of experience is very valuable and will help you avoid a "training failure" with the regional airlines (which no one wants).  The general rule of thumb is to work for a year or two as a CFI and then move on from there to the industry (whether to a regional job or a charter/GA job or something similar).

Second, with regard to JAA training, what I would do if I were you is go to work for one of the larger flight training organizations in Florida or somewhere in the southern US that does training to JAA standards.  If you obtain work experience in a flight training company that does JAA work, then, you can take that to Europe with you if that is what you would like to do.  The only problem with taking it to Europe is that there are not a lot of companies over there of any size that do flight training due to the cost of it.  So, you would have to search for a place to work.

Third, the pursuit of a college degree in aviation would be a good thing to do since that would help you be more competitive in your job search in the aviation industry.  There is an organization that publishes THE COLLEGIATE AVIATION GUIDE....it is available from the University Aviation Association at www.uaa.aero   

As far as your age is concerned, remember that there is a mandatory retirement age of 65 for pilots flying large transport aircraft.  This is an international retirement age now that the USA has adopted it.  So, you have 32 years to formulate and implement your plans for an aviation career, including obtaining a degree.  I think that is enough time assuming that you have the resources available to go to school at this time.

All the best wishes to you,

David A. NewMyer