I’m new here and scouting around for as much info as possible before I start with ATP.
I have an Associate Science degree, and meet all qualifications to enter into the program. I became aware, however, that if I ever want to work with the majors, I’ll need to get a Bachelor’s degree to realistically be considered.
I want to do this as quickly as possible, and am looking into enrolling in online school around the time I finish the ACPP (hopefully sometime early to mid next summer). I am hoping to work as a CFI with ATP and do online schooling to speed up the process, possibly even finishing school close to when I finish accruing my 1500 hours.
My question is, how realistic is this? I don’t know the workload of the CFI’s, and so don’t know how much time would be available for studies when not instructing. Is this possible? Improbable? Would it be better to wait until working for a regional and finish my Bachelor’s then?
As a CFI you’re probably hoping to build your time as fast as possible and that means a heavy workload. You also would want your instructor to be available as much as needed and your future students deserve the same level of attention.
Short answer is you should wait till you’re at a Regional to finish up your degree where you’ll have alot more free time.
Wait until you are at a regional to work on your degree. You will have more time then and a more predictable schedule. As a CFI, flexibility in scheduling is key and your primary focus should be on getting your hours. You will have time for college while at the regionals.
Thank you Adam and Chris, I appreciate your responses. I want to do this right and definitely don’t want to do something that might interrupt the progression of advancement. If that means pushing off a Bachelors until a little later, I’m okay with that. It sounds like I’d probably need to spend a few years at the regionals regardless, so hopefully I’ll get my schooling done long before reaching the point of applying to a major.