Pilot Instructor - Pilot Instructor FlightSafety International Employee Review

If you are considering working as an Instructor at FSI you would be well advised to read ALL the reviews posted by former/current Instructors and Training Center Evaluators (TCE’s). A few reviews are positive, some are neutral, but many are very negative. Take the few positive ones with a huge grain of salt and pay close attention to the negative reviews, they are very accurate and consistent. I’ve worked at multiple FSI locations and experienced most, if not all of the negatives that reviewers have posted. The problems that Instructors experience are not limited to one or two flight training centers but are at ALL the centers, it is systemic. The negative reviews have common threads (i.e. Severely inadequate Instructor staffing, lying management, ineffective/incompetent management, top heavy management, non-caring management, horrendous schedules that constantly change, the expectation that the Instructor is available around the clock and at a moments notice. Instructors are effectively on call 24/7/365 (with the exception of two personal days and accrued vacation time), and a quality-of-life close to zero. I’ll address each of these common threads. When the term “management” is used I’m generally referring to corporate/upper-level management, however, there are times when negatives apply to lower-level management as well. Severely inadequate Instructor staffing: This is the biggest problem an Instructor will experience and leads to a host of other problems (i.e. lacking quality-of-life, constantly changing schedule, very long work hours, eventual ineffective Instructor training and ultimately Instructor apathy and burn-out). In every department I worked the instructor staffing level was below where it needed to be. Once an Instructor resigns, the company may, or may not hire a replacement Instructor. The process of hiring a new instructor is a very long and drawn out process. In the meantime, the already overworked Instructors are required to pick up the now increased workload. If a new Instructor is hired they will require training. This training is provided by the current Instructors in the new-hires assigned department. This leads to what is known as the Double-Whammy-Effect (DWE) suffered by all the Instructors. DWE occurs because the client training workload is not reduced for any Instructors tasked to train the new-hire Instructor, it becomes an additional burden heaped upon their already increased workload. The DWE continues until the new Instructor is fully qualified which can take months to years. Lying management: Most managers are honest, however, I’ve intentionally been lied to by more than one manager on more than one occasion, every time with a smile on their face. I know of new-hires who were mis-informed about the yearly work requirements and expected schedules during their interview. This seems to be an acceptable practice at FSI as I never saw those managers disciplined in any way. If anything, some were ultimately rewarded with promotions. Ineffective/incompetent management: Management seems to spend the majority of their time putting out fires due to their poor policy and management decisions. They are also not above pointing fingers and placing blame for their ineptness on subordinates. Some management candidates are selected because they are most like the in-place management. Like inbreeding, it’s not good for the gene pool. Not all the management team are ineffective and/or incompetent, but there are enough of them that life for the Instructor eventually becomes unbearable. Top heavy management: A classic example of too many chiefs and not enough indians. I’ve often thought FSI managements goal was not to effectively manage but rather to self-propagate and protect their existence at any cost and by any means. Non-caring management: Upper-level management doesn’t care because the blowback from their poor decisions, policies or ineptness doesn’t directly and negatively affect them. Unless it significantly impacts “the bottom line“ or them personally, they have no vested interest in increasing the staffing levels or otherwise improving conditions. The higher up the ladder they are the more isolated and insulated they are. They are extremely out of touch with what the typical Instructor has to endure. There is no mechanism or policy in place that makes them accountable, therefore they don’t need to care about their performance or the wellbeing of their subordinates, and they don’t. Horrendous schedules and the expectation that the Instructor is available for work at all times: Typically you will be assigned the following weeks schedule on the previous Friday. Therefore, you can plan your life only one week into the future, and that’s a big maybe. Your start time for any given day can vary throughout the week. As an example: on Monday you could have a start time of 8 Am, on Tuesday a start time of 8 Pm, on Wednesday a start time of 10 Am, etc. This type of schedule is not unheard of. You can forget about having a normal sleep schedule. If the simulator breaks down (it happens more often than you’d expect) but can be repaired, you are expected to complete the training when the simulator becomes available again. If it takes four or five hours to get the simulator back in operation then you are expected/required to continue the session at that point. Does it matter that you may have non-work related plans like a doctors appointment or kids that need tending to? Nope! Too bad for you, you’ll just have to suck it up. The days are mostly very long. My average day spent at the training center was anywhere from ten to twelve hours. Although it didn’t happen often, I’ve spent as many as fourteen hours there. I’ve even slept there because of a late end-time followed by an early start-time and didn’t want to sacrifice sleep to commute time. Arrive plenty early before the scheduled start time to prepare for the training session and spend a significant amount of time after the session has concluded to complete required computer and paperwork. You will receive zero credit for this pre and post prep time. The only credit received towards the yearly minimum requirement (known as DAL’s, or, ‘face-time’) is when you are the Instructor-of-record working directly with the client(s). You will work many non-DAL hours and receive no credit for them. An example of this is when a client arrives without a training partner and can’t be paired with another client. For an aircraft that requires a two-person crew an Instructor will be scheduled as a seat-filler for the client. You would think that the instructor filling the other crew seat would receive DAL’s for their efforts. You would be wrong. Why? Because the seat-filler Instructor is not the Instructor-of-record. There have been cases of Instructors working as seat-fillers for many weeks without acquiring a single DAL! When it comes to upper-level managements view of how productive an Instructor is, the only thing that matters is the number of DAL’s accumulated, period! Just because you have received your next weeks schedule doesn’t mean that’s the schedule you will work. The schedules change constantly. As an example, a schedule of six days on with one day off is typical, however, just because you have a day scheduled off doesn’t mean you will not be called in on that very day. It happens all the time, sometimes at the last minute. The company policy states you can be worked twelve consecutive days. My record was twenty one consecutive days before I got a day off, and these were long days. FSI can and will bend/break their own rules if it benefits the company. Poor Quality-of-Life: This one is easy to explain. Just take all the previously described common-threads and tie them together, the result is an extremely poor to nil quality-of-life, unless work IS your life. Other problems encountered: Becoming a TCE: If you become a TCE it means more work and a bigger target on your back. The only advantage to becoming a TCE is a minuscule pay bump. It really isn’t worth it. Employee Infractions: If an infraction is committed by an employee, the company policy states that the employee should first receive a verbal warning, followed by a written warning and finally disciplinary action. It doesn’t seem to matter if the infraction is accidental or deliberate. I know of situations where management skipped the verbal warning and went straight to the written warning and/or disciplinary action. It seemed to depend on which Instructor and manager(s) were involved and how serious those in management deemed the infraction to be. Some in management are just flat out vindictive. Just another example of management breaking/bending their own rules. Career advancement: Do you have a desire to enter management? Good news! You have the same chance as someone who may even be more qualified than you. It doesn’t seem to matter what an applicants prior work history, educational background or supervisory/management experience is. As long as management doesn’t view you as a threat to their way of doing things and they LIKE you, then you have an excellent chance. Don’t bother applying for the position, it’s a waste of time. If management wants you, you will be taken behind closed doors and informed that the position is yours if you want it. Eventually you will have to apply for the position to make the application/interview process appear legitimate to the other applicants who are no longer in the running. Although management will claim this doesn’t occur, well, it does. The application/interview process can work the way it’s supposed to, but only when management can’t find the person they want to take the position. Instructor Incentive Pay: In an attempt to stem the hemorrhage of Instructors from FSI, management has re-instituted Instructor Incentive Pay (IIP). Another reviewer nailed it when they said it’s like putting a bandaid on an arterial bleed. Management is using IIP to treat the symptom, not the disease. One thing I’ve learned over the years at FSI is that history repeats itself because management refuses to learn from it. They keep repeating the same mistakes. I believe the following is in store for Instructors; IIP can and will end as soon as management feels they have diminished the number of Instructors running out the door. Even if IIP were to continue, without curing the other company ills, Instructors will continue to get fed up and quit. Unions: I’m not a big fan of unions, however, over the years I’ve been in and out of unions and in and out of management (not at FSI). I’ve had management work for and against me, same with the unions. I’ve seen it from both sides and learned a few things. If any group of folks have ever been in need of an effective union, it’s the FSI Instructors. Waiting around for FSI management to get a clue and actually fix the multitude of problems will be a very, very long wait indeed. FSI management is big on talk, and little on action. The Instructors would be far better off with a strong union representing them. Technology/Computers: FSI just can’t seem to figure out how to use technology effectively. Their simulators are a marvel when they work, and yet other areas/applications that beg for a computer solution are either ignored, dismissed or implemented ineffectively. As an example: Instructors are required to print test questionnaires and answer sheets for each client. There can be many clients in a ground school class and each client test questionnaire is comprised of many pages. After the tests are administered the questionnaires and answer sheets are collected and the graded answer sheets are placed in the clients personal folder for permanent record keeping. The questionnaires are shredded and the test results along with any question numbers incorrectly answered are again recorded by the Instructor. This is repeated for each client in the ground school. What a colossal waste of Instructor time and resources! Here’s an idea. Since each client has a computer terminal sitting in front of them in the ground school, why not have them take the test on the computer? Have the computer grade the test at completion (providing instant feedback for the client) and record the results. It’s not like this hasn’t been done elsewhere for decades! It’s done at the CATS Testing Centers where FAA tests are administered. If CATS can do it then why not FSI? I posed this question to management and was told that the FAA wouldn’t approve it! Really? What a lame excuse! CATS didn’t seem to have a problem getting FAA approval. Most of the required computer programs that a FSI Instructor has to deal with are poorly designed/tested/implemented and have a terrible user interface. The biggest offender is the program LOGBOOK. Instructors will spend innumerable hours dealing with this cyber dud. FSI is a very Microsoft centric company and many computers run older versions of the M.S. operating system. If you plan on logging into the FSI employee portal from home using a computer with a non-Microsoft operating system (i.e. Apple OS-X or Linux) then expect a frustrating experience. Even with a M.S. equipped computer you can expect a frustrating experience most of the time. Better yet, save yourself some aggravation and just don’t bother. Yes, the Blue-Screen-Of-Death is alive and well at FSI. In many ways FSI continues to be on the trailing edge of technology though management would like you believe otherwise. Two year training contract: If you accept employment as an FSI Instructor you are required to sign a two year training contract. Don’t do it. That contract chains you to FSI. If it seems two years isn’t a long time, well, you haven’t worked at FSI. Resignation prior to the two year duration will require repayment of any training costs incurred. It’s a very expensive deal. Any reputable company wouldn’t need to resort to this tactic to keep its employees around. It’s a very effective way for FSI to force Instructors to stay. I’m also not a fan of lawyers, but you would be well advised to have your lawyer review this contract before signing it. Constantly increasing requirements: Instructor requirements and responsibilities always increase, never decrease and are never-ending. If you have any free time in your schedule, someone in management will find something for you to do to fill that void.