Saga about the Two Year Training Agreement - Pilot Instructor FlightSafety International Employee Review

They are serious about the two year training agreement. I found myself in a predicament with a new baby on the way. My wife worked full time 12 hour night shifts as a nurse at one of local hospitals. We determined that there was not a conceivable way for my wife to continue working (even part time) with our new baby especially with my erratic schedule as a FSI instructor and her working night shifts. Being part of the student loan debt generation, we also couldn't afford to get by on only the salary that FSI pays. Therefore, I made contacts with a large corporate operator that trains at FSI and was able to secure a pilot position that would allow my wife to be a stay at home mom to our newborn. When I turned in my resignation, management completely flipped out. They couldn't believe that someone was leaving before the two year training contract was completed. Well, I certainly wasn't going to let a job that pays almost three times what FSI pays walk away from me because I was supposed to work two years at FSI. Management demanded their $38,700 training agreement be paid in full on my last day. If I had that amount of money sitting around, I wouldn't have needed to leave FSI in the first place but that is a side issue. So, I offered FSI the prorated amount which would have been about $9500. They checked with New York and they said they wanted to stick with terms of the agreement and demanded the full amount. Since I couldn't pay them in full on my last day, they took my last paycheck minus a small amount they had to give me due to minimum wage laws (around $500). I was eventually able to negotiate 12 month payback terms which equated to a little over $3000 per month but they still took my last paycheck anyways. So, when you see that image of Warren Buffett with an ice cream cone, remember that he had no problem taking away the last paycheck of someone who worked hard as a FSI instructor for 18 out of 24 months that had a newborn baby at home. I was extremely fortunate, however, that the corporate operator I now work for offered to pay off the training contract. I did not know that they were going to do that before I started the job and it was a huge relief to me when I found out. I would suggest that guys in my similar situation attempt to negotiate this as part of their offer before accepting a new position. I wish I had done it that way to avoid all the stress. Nevertheless, I will never forgive FSI for the amount of stress that they put me and my family through regarding how I was treated and because of that I discourage every pilot I know from ever working there. Unless you are going to lose your home or your kids are going to go hungry, do not accept a job at FSI as an instructor unless the two year training agreement is gone. The two year training agreement is what permits FSI to pay so far below industry average for this job. It creates an artificial supply of instructors because many of them would leave if it wasn't for the two year agreement. This allows FSI to not have to compete for talented instructors by increasing pay to retain instructors. A message for the "young" guys/gals: You are being underpaid because of the "old" retired airline and/or military guys working at the training centers who have military and/or airline pensions/retirements coming to them each month along with social security. This isn't a knock at those "old" guys...I wish I had the level of income they get each month. But the reality is that this beats working as a big box store greeter and FSI is their "hobby" money (i.e. fancy cars and boats) each month and they get to pretend to still be pilots. Since there are so many of the "old" guys willing to work for the salary that is offered without a real improvement in the pay or conditions because they already have a large influx of cash coming in each month, things will never get better. And with the massive number of retirements coming up at all the airlines, expect this situation to continue for the foreseeable future with droves of retired airline pilots looking for supplemental income as FSI instructors. A message for those looking to go back to active flying after FSI: This job has been referred to as a flying career "kiss of death" because you will no longer have any active flying currency in transport category aircraft. The center will not permit any outside commercial flying activity whatsoever. Your only hope for a decent job immediately following FSI is to get a job with a good corporate operator that doesn't mind the currency issue. I was fortunate to find myself in that category. Want to go to a major airline? Forget it...not until you first go to one of the many terrible regional airlines to get 121 current again...all for $21,000 a year and most likely a commute involved. No major airlines will look at you under the normal hiring processes unless you have actual currency and since they all have computerized applications now your application will never be seen. This was the first and last time I will ever sign a training agreement. It is used as a way to underpay and force retention when the job and conditions are such that everyone wants to leave. Like others that will surely read what I have rambled on about, I took the job because I didn't have any other options at the time. It has worked out for me in the long run, but, sadly, for every one of me, there are ten other guys and gals that are forced with the reality of staying at FSI or going back to a regional airline to get current again and then hoping to get picked up by one of the major airlines or decent corporate operators. One Last Comment: I want you to remember that those responsible for instituting the two year training agreement never had to sign it themselves or face the kind of financial repercussions if they had to change jobs for more money because of a family situation (like me). This fact alone should infuriate you enough to not sign it or not work at FSI. On one of my last days, one of the "old" instructors asked me about it because he didn't know anything about it since he didn't have to sign it when he started 10 years ago.