Hi guys I wondered if someone might be able to enlighten me as to how ATP assigns instructors to bases once training is complete and a graduate has been offered employment as an instructor.
I get the impression from talking to them that this decision is made for the employee and you go where they need you. That’s ok if you’re younger, unmarried, no kids etc. However, it would be nearly impossible for me to be assigned somewhere far from my home for 12 - 18 months.
As a newly employed instructor can you request a specific base and wait for that. In my case that would be Austin, TX (GTU). Or is it possible to do shift work like 4 on 3 off at a location close to your home (i.e. Dallas or Houston for me)?
You are correct in that bases are assigned to instructors based on the
needs of the company.
I can’t make any promises that anyone will get the base that they want, or
be able to request their preferred base. When I was an instructor
(2015-2017), ATP guaranteed a base transfer within the first 4 months of
instruction. Towards the end of my time as an instructor, things changed.
ATP had taken that 4 month transfer guarantee away briefly. I wasn’t
complaining because I had my preferred base from day 1. I was lucky.
I still keep in touch with some of the instructors that I worked with. They
finally got their preferred bases after about 12 months since they started
working for ATP.
So, it’s just one of those things that’s completely outside of your control
that needs to be seriously considered when deciding who to instruct for.
ATP’s NEW (current) policy is you will be given a choice of 3 available locations and hopefully one of those will work for you. If not, than you can always look for a local flight school. I understand that’s not ideal but that’s the reality. One more factor to consider.
I called and asked ATP and they said I could be guaranteed the location I wanted as an instructor. Do you know if this has changed in the past 9 months or are they feeding me some lines? I was hoping to do everything in Louisville, so maybe it depends on location?
I plan on calling ATP tomorrow for more information, but someone just posted on another website that ATP is currently only offering JAX or Daytona to CFIs. It’s very possible either this current student is confused or perhaps I’m misunderstanding his post. When I spoke with ATP in March, the policy was location of your choice…an update from the existing “choice of three” policy.
ATP website is currently stating “Training center assignments are offered based on instructor turnover, student load, and other operational objectives.”
Do any current students or mentors have information about a possible recent policy change on CFI assignments?
I think perhaps both are true. There has been no policy change and you are correct that ATP offers successful grads the location of their choice. There is of course a caveat. ATP is not going to just send instructor after instructor to a location that is sufficiently staffed. That would be pointless for all. What that means is if for example the location you desire is currently fully staffed you may have to wait for that location to have an open slot. BUT, ATP will also give you the option of going to another location that has a need. I suspect the person on the other forum was simply saying that JAX or DAB have immediate openings RIGHT NOW and the others do not. Make sense?
Not wanting to kick a dead horse but I did want to update this thread following my discussing with ATP earlier today. I spoke with a representative in Training Support and she indicated students who are eligible for a CFI job with ATP will receive a job offer that includes a list of available locations based off the current needs of ATP. Students who wish to instruct with ATP will need to select from one of these available locations and can apply to transfer later to a preferred location, if an opening is available. In my opinion, this makes absolute sense because there will likely always be an imbalance of instructors if students are able to select any of the 42 locations directly following CFI standardization.
I’m very flexible and the wife and I always knew that a career change would come with some sacrificing so instructing at a location that meets the needs of ATP isn’t a big deal. I did, however, want to bring this to the board because there seems to be some inconsistencies (ATP Admissions vs. Training Support) on what the current CFI assignment process is. Some students who are planning to instruct at a particular location may need to remain flexible.