Side gigs for CFI | TheaterFire

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Tasty-Show4438@reddit

Bartending. 100% if you work at a corporate place you get to pick and choose the days you work and can pick up a shift the day of. Local bars will be a little less forgiving but can still pick up shifts day of. But it’s the most amount of money for the least amount of hours worked, I’ll make 100-200 on weekdays for 5 hours of work and 300-400 on weekend for 6 hours of work. And that doesn’t even include my hourly wage.

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Anthem00@reddit

DoorDash. Uber. Lyft. onlyFans ?

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OnToNextStage@reddit

OnlyFans but it’s pictures of Turbofans

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beastboy4246@reddit

Can't forget feet finder

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TauntingTugboat@reddit

Pumping jet fuel is fun.

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sveinnn06@reddit

Except, no one is hiring 😭

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SquishyCoffee6640@reddit

No one’s hiring line guys? Not even at any small fbos? I love my part time ramp job, the people I work with a super fun. Just sucks being out in the rain cause then if I feel sick I dont want to fly when the time comes😂

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sveinnn06@reddit

I applied to a bunch of places to be a lineman and haven’t heard back lol. Small airports to big ones 😅.

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TauntingTugboat@reddit

That’s still one of those jobs where you would be benefitted by shaking the manager’s hand and introducing yourself. Follow up on your applications.

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tempskawt@reddit

Plasma donation before lessons makes the day go by so much quicker

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Lonely_Survey5929@reddit

Substitute teacher. You can choose the days you want to go in and work. Bad weather? Go sub

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SEA_tide@reddit

As an added plus, elementary school students seem to think that being a pilot is really cool. I've actually landed early due to weather, secured the plane, and was teaching 20 minutes later.

Substitute teaching does not pay particularly well in many areas, might require licensing and a teaching degree depending on the state, and some classes can be very challenging to manage. elementary school tends to be a little bit more difficult to teach because the students are constantly vying for your attention.

Overall though, substitute teaching can be a very rewarding side gig and requires you to think quickly about how to navigate complex situations, which is a very useful skill to have as a pilot.

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Mountain-Captain-396@reddit

That's actually genius! Plus you won't have to worry about subbing during the summer when school's out and coincidentally its also peak flying season.

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SEA_tide@reddit

It really depends on what kind of jobs are available for what pay in your area. Ideally you would want something that you could pick up last minute or on times that you know you wouldn't be flying.

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pilotinprogress@reddit

I’m a server at a restaurant. I pay all my bills and pay off my CFII bills.

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ATrainDerailReturns@reddit

Worked my entire aviation career at a very understanding family owned appliance store

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xSYOTOSx@reddit

Uber, door dash etc.

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flyingPhi129@reddit

I moonlight as ATC on the side

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westmancat@reddit

Is it normal to only get hourly pay as a flight instructor in the US?

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Lonely_Survey5929@reddit

It is very abnormal to get salary as a CFI

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PP4life@reddit

Yes

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MovieEuphoric8857@reddit

High school sports official. Usually nights and weekends. You pick what days you want to work

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Lonely_Survey5929@reddit

I also do high school football officiating and would recommend it!

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I-r0ck@reddit

If your good with fixing stuff you can see if any flight schools need help, you can work on planes as long as your supervised by an A&P

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AWACS_Bandog@reddit

Onlyfans

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flyingwithfish24@reddit

Ramp full time/part time…you get health insurance

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churnitupsome@reddit

CFI is my side gig

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JustAnotherDude1990@reddit

Bartending

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FinancialRush218@reddit

Got me thru school

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pilotshashi@reddit

Part time Fueling? 🛩️

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gmvnam@reddit

You could wait tables at a restaurant or bartend a few nights a week. It’s kind of a crappy job but can be decent money if you really need it

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howdoiflytheairplane@reddit

I was thinking this too. I used to work as a server at a small sushi place for a few years and was easily pulling in $400-500 working Friday and Saturday dinner (~12 hours total). It is very stressful though. But I always said that if I was a CFI and needed extra money, I would go back to the restaurant.

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alphamonkey27@reddit

Lol i work at a hardware store

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tokencloud@reddit

I tended to a local management company’s small fleet of Citations. Detail cleaned, stocked them, pre-flighted them to catch any issues before the crew arrived, added oil when needed. On top of setting my own schedule (I was a 1099 contractor for this), it also got me a few hours in the right seat. After I got a full load of students it was unsustainable, but in the meantime it was great extra cash and experience.

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TxAggieMike@reddit

Mowing dogs and walking lawns.

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imlooking4agirl@reddit

I’ve hear working the line for an FBO or even an airline. I’ve personally worked for a couple airlines and the only downside to that would be that your CFI schedule would be at the mercy of your airline schedule. Still, I’ve met a few CFI’s that have made it work.

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Flat-Row7968@reddit

Depends on where you are, but I’ve been working at GardaWorld for a couple of months doing security work as a “flex officer” and it’s been great as a student. I can pretty much look at the weather for the week and pick which days I probably won’t be flying because of weather and choose those days to work if a shift pops up. Very easy work too pretty much just being a warm body at sites that need it. No minimum amount of hours requirement, shifts just pop up on your phone and you either accept or deny them no questions asked.

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mitch_kramer@reddit

Gig jobs would probably be the easiest for this as others said since you can make your own schedule. I had gotten a job at Lowe's when I was a CFI and I also worked side construction jobs just being the gopher with people I knew who did construction. Some jobs aren't flexible but it kinda depends on how badly you need money. Sometimes the CFI thing may have to go on the back burner around your other job if the CFI job isn't putting food on your table or paying your rent. The longer you are a CFI the more students you'll have though. It's definitely rough going in the beginning.

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RaiseTheDed@reddit

Bar tender? Meet a few who did that

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

Hey all, I just moved to a new state for a CFI position but it’s been slow. Does anyone have any recommendations for some side gigs that work with being a CFI? The main issue I can see is that the side job would need to be very flexible with their schedule so I can fly with students when they need.

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