I’m a new CFI employed at a school with shady maintenance and a pretty toxic work environment. I’m willing to put in the time to get out of here as a I understand the market is trash.
All that said, how much dual given and/or total time will bring my resume to the top of the stack at another school?
Sharing a datapoint for those who want to know:
Discovery flight: Feb 2024
PPL: Nov 2024
IR: Oct 2025
CPL: Jan 2026
CFI: Apr 2026
First job: Apr 2026
I worked full time in corporate america and paid out of pocket for all part 61 training. I didn’t track costs specifically but it was in the ballpark of $65,000 including training, checkrides, equipment, etc. and had about 300 TT for CFI.
I didn’t really get “serious” until about May 2025 and buckled down. I wanted to go to ATP and leave my job but I’m glad I went this route. Came out on the other side with no debt. Ask me anything.