Hey! I was wondering if you could give me some insight as to what life is like during your time as a CFI after graduating the program? I understand you’re in quite a bit of debt, what are some ways you were able to divide out your income to pay off your loans as quickly as possible?
Danielle,
I made just enough to support myself. Tuition Reimbursement helped pay my monthly minimum. Without that I wouldn’t have been able to make any payments towards my loan. It wasn’t until I became an FO at a regional that I was able to make payments on my principle.
https://atpflightschool.com/land/tuition-reimbursement.html
Tory
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When you started to make your payments, were you still receiving tuition reimbursement?
Yes. The deal I made with Horizon was $5/flight hour as a CFI until I had 1500 hours and then $500/mo for my first 12 months as an FO.
Tory
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Tory- is it safe to say assuming I went a similar route, that I’d only be in about 60k worth of debt? Or would you say less?
Well I don’t know what your financial situation is, but the tuition reimbursement only covered 75% of my minimum monthly payment. My monthly payments were $670. I had a 9.125% interest rate. I graduated the program in 2015. Hired by Horizon in 2017. Refinanced my loan. Was able to get the interest rate down to 5%. Will have my loan paid off by 2025, 5 years less than the loan’s term.
Tory
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Tory,
Did you choose to defer your payments until you were hired and working for a regional, or did you pay the monthly minimums until you became an FO?
Joshua,
I made my monthly payments as a CFI, but it hardly paid down any of the principle. My payments mostly kept the loan from getting any larger. I started making better progress when I refinanced.
Tory
Tory,
When you began, did you have a cosigner for your financial doings? I know going forward myself I will need a cosigner being a recent graduate of college and already having federal loans out in my name. Thanks Tory.
Brady
Tory,
Thank you. The monthly payments during CFI time look pretty daunting.
Brady,
I did not have a co-signer. I had a full-time job at the time I applied, $40k salary, good credit, no debt from college. If you run into any issues call Kirk in Financing.
Tory
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Joshua,
I know, but the Tuition Reimbursement made it easier to pay $170+ of my own money towards the loan.
No one is stopping you from teaching elsewhere. You need to do what is best for you.
Tory
Tory,
I certainly understand I could teach anywhere else, but would someone want to? Based off the feedback from You, Adam, and Chris, I wouldn’t want to do another job other than instructing since it makes you a well rounded pilot, and tends to expose you to more “decision-making opportunities.” Thanks again for the feedback.
Josh
Joshua,
People have different priorities. For many the simply can’t be away from home and if their closest location isn’t available they may be forced to find another school or if there aren’t any about way to build hours. People have to what works best for them. What I do have an issue with is pilots who are only concerned with building flight time numbers but don’t care what they’re doing. As you says instructing will def make you a more well rounded pilot and continue to hone your skills.
Adam
Joshua,
Teaching elsewhere vs not teaching at all are two different things. I just meant there are other flight schools out there if you can find one with higher pay to justify the loan. Either that or stay with ATP and get your Tuition Reimbursement as soon as you can.
Tory
Hey Tory,
If I’m understanding this correctly, your payments were $670 before you refinanced and tuition reimbursement covered 75% of that. Then after you refinanced you were getting $500 a month from Horizon when you started for 1 year?
So, after your first year with Horizon, you were then paying full principal and interest on a second year pilot salary? Obviously you’ve made it work, but, that seems like a significant amount more loan to be paying without a significant raise in pay.
Is that correct, and if so, how did you manage making that work?
Thanks,
Tim
Tim,
Actually it was a significant bump in pay. I netted $18k, grossed $23k, in my last year at ATP, minus tuition reimbursement, but I saw none of the reimbursement money anyway. It went straight to SM. First year at Horizon I grossed $43k. Second year, $55k. My lifestyle didn’t change much when I started working for Horizon. I was living off the same $23k budget from before.
Tory
Oh ok. Thanks Tory
Hey Tory, this may be a question I have to ask ATP directly, but do you know about when most instructors make their deal with an airline and start getting tuition reimbursement? Is it 3 months in, 6 months in etc. I’m not taking your word as binding of course. Just trying to guesstimate.
Thanks.
Phillip
Philip,
500 hours total time.
Tory