Bascuela

The International Flight Training Academy located in Bakersfield CA is still hiring all the instructors that they can get. They just dropped their hiring minimums to no dual given. Just a class II medical and a CFII. Yes, the pay and benefits are nice but there are a lot of downsides that are not in the brochure.

IFTA is a great place for flight instructing “lifers.” However, if you are YOUNG, NOT INTRESTING IN FLIGHT INSTRUCTING FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, OR JUST LOOKING TO BUILD TIME, then this is NOT the place for you. There is a two year contract that you must sign. Once they have you, they GOT you. Prepare to be treated like a child, no respect given to you at all, deal with a lot of other people who feel the same way, and downright hate your job within about 6 months. You’ll notice something the very first day when you look around and see that nobody smiles and that people just look generally depressed. You’ll find out, give it about 6 months. They advertise BE58 time. You might get it, at the end of your contract to try to keep you longer, but for about 20 months it will be non-stop single engine day VFR. Again, if quick time building or moving onto another place later is not important then this job is fine.

I only write this to warn potential new CFII’s looking for work that this is not a good place. I’m very surprised there is not a riot everyday here by the younger (under 4 years) instructors, and with now the NO-TIME CFI’s… well it could just get ugly. If you fall under one of the three types of people and are interested in applying, contact me and I’ll give you more information.

N6724G

Well, personally, if youare flight instructing JUST to build time and dont have a genuine interest in training people then you wil never be my flight insructor and probabaly should not be instructing for any reputable organization.

Some people like teaching others to fly and thats what they want to do.

Bascuela

True, and I like to flight instruct. This was only a warning for brand new CFI's that were thinking this might be a "quick gig" to build time.

kalyx522

uhm.. I think they lay that all out to you before you jump in, right? I mean I think they tell you all about the contract requirement and all that beforehand. No trickery involved there. I mean, it's give or take... not suitable for most people, and according to my friend there you only fly 50 hrs or so a month... but you won't fly much more than that in a small FBO environment either. With IFTA at least you have a salary, and probably one of the highest in the industry for a CFI at that. That is the "take" in the give and take, I think. It sounds like a decent job for those who don't have the right to work in the US but wouldn't have an opportunity for another flying job in their home countries.

randalis

what is the salary if I may be so bold?

tlove482

The advertisements I've seen say 40k a year.

Bascuela

typo... they'll admit that.

After your 1 year mark, it is $40K

b3ross

Bascuela - I am considering applying to IFTA, could you send me an email to [email protected] with some info and I would like to ask you some questions, thanks for the help

pete2800

What about the first year? Just curious.

-Ben

Serendib

I mean I think they tell you all about the contract requirement and all that beforehand. No trickery involved there.


They did not tell me about the contract beforehand. It cost me nearly $200.00 to find that out